Dallas Cowboys hiring former Florida star Sharrif Floyd as assistant defensive line coach

The Dallas Cowboys have hired Sharrif Floyd to be a member of their coaching staff on Thursday afternoon, according to Field Yates and Todd Archer of ESPN. He was a former first round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in the 2013 NFL Draft. Floyd played his college football for the Florida Gators and he spent time working with the Dallas Cowboys’ staff this past training camp. He will be working with the Cowboys as their assistant defensive line coach and their defensive quality control coach.

Coming out of George Washington High School (Philadelphia, PA), Floyd was one of the most highly rated prospects in America in the 2010 cycle. According to the On3 Consensus Rankings, Floyd was rated as a five-star prospect and the No. 2 overall defensive line prospect in the country. He was a part of the Gators’ 2010 recruiting class, which was one of the most highly rated in college football recruiting history. He joined the likes of Ronald Powell, Dominique Easley, Matt Elam, and Josh Shaw, in earning five-star rankings for the class.

Floyd was one of seven true freshmen to make a start in 2010. He garnered Freshman All-SEC honors after recording 23 tackles and 6.5 for a loss. Floyd started the final 11 games of his sophomore season at defensive end. He tied for the team lead with four quarterback hurries, totaled 46 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, a pass breakup, and a blocked kick.

As a junior, Floyd shined. He was named First Team Defense AP All-SEC (DT), First Team Defense Coaches’ All-SEC (DL), Sporting News All-American, Phil Steele Postseason All-SEC First Team (DL). he was the first defensive lineman at Florida since 2001 to earn All-America honor. Floyd recorded 46 tackles on the season and led the team with 13 tackles for a loss. He added one forced fumble and two blocked kicks, while registering a tackle for loss in nine of the 13 games.

He declared for the draft following that season and was selected 23rd overall in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings.

On3’s Nick de la Torre also contributed to this article.