The successful recruitment of Deyvid Palepale by USC tells so many interesting and notable stories. One is that specific assistant coaches with specific histories at specific schools can make a defining difference in recruitments. The Palepale recruitment likely would not have been pulled off by USC if defensive line coach Shaun Nua wasn’t on staff. By all appearances, Nua is the man who made this happen for the Trojans.
One has to remember that Michigan was viewed as the leader in this recruitment at an earlier point in time. USC was able to overtake the Wolverines while also fending off Penn State to land this recruitment.
Where did Shaun Nua coach before going to USC to join Lincoln Riley’s staff? Michigan, where he helped Aidan Hutchinson become a top NFL draft pick and a Heisman Trophy runner-up. Nua, in Ann Arbor, coached Michigan’s defensive line so expertly that the Wolverines were able to punch Ohio State in the mouth, win the Big Ten, and make the College Football Playoff, a transformative series of events in head coach Jim Harbaugh’s career.
It is very hard to look at that body of work and that recent piece of coaching history, and then say that Nua was a peripheral, minor figure in Palepale’s recruitment. That just doesn’t square with the larger reality of the situation. Nua was the essential figure, the prime mover, in this recruitment.
Not convinced? Watch and listen to what Palepale himself had to say:
“He’s the greatest defensive line coach in the country.—That’s all I gotta say.”~~Deyvid Palepale’s thoughts on DL Coach Shaun Nua. https://t.co/wYjfEIvw9d
— Marc Kulkin (@MarcKulkin) July 1, 2023
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