USC is hiring North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz as its linebackers coach, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley introduced Sunday. Entz spent the previous 5 years main the Bison, amassing a 60-10 report and profitable the FCS nationwide title in 2019 and 2021.
The transfer marks an outside-the-box rent for Riley and new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn because the Trojans search to bolster a protection that surrendered 34.9 factors factors per recreation throughout the 2023 common season. NDSU is about to play Montana within the semifinals of the FCS playoffs this Saturday, and Entz will stay with NDSU via the length of the postseason.
Riley fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch and changed him with Lynn, who spent this season in the identical position for UCLA after a number of seasons as an NFL assistant.
Although Entz has by no means labored for an FBS program, his addition provides USC a confirmed winner from a defensive background. Previous to taking up as North Dakota State’s head coach in 2019, Entz served as this system’s defensive coordinator from 2014-18, giving him a decade of high-level expertise with an FCS powerhouse.
“Having a championship-caliber employees is instrumental to the success of our crew,” Riley mentioned. “By welcoming Matt Entz, a championship-winning head coach and excellent defensive thoughts, we’re bolstering our defensive employees. He’s going to be a wonderful addition to the USC soccer program.”
There’s current precedent for the same transfer resulting in upward mobility within the teaching occupation. After main Montana State to the FCS semifinals in 2019, Jeff Choate left to turn out to be the co-defensive coordinator at Texas. He was just lately named the pinnacle coach at Nevada.
