Auburn's Jeremy Garrett a FootballScoop Coach of the Year finalist
FootballScoop, which honors excellence in performance and character in college football, has named Auburn defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett a finalist for the Coach of the Year program.
Per FootballScoop, “The only coaching awards program where winners are selected by their fellow coaches, the FootballScoop Coach of the Year program celebrates its 15th season this fall. Coaches must be nominated by a fellow coach to be eligible for the award, and each category’s winner is selected by prior winners of that category. Winners will be announced in the coming days and weeks and honored at the AFCA Convention in Charlotte next month. FBS strength, operations and personnel honorees will be announced separately.”
Garrett was recognized for his performance at Liberty, his previous stop. He was hired by Auburn in December.
These are the other defensive line coaches named as finalists:
-Pat Kuntz, James Madison
-Charlie Partridge, Pitt
-John Scott, Jr., Penn State
-Landius Wilkerson, South Alabama
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To see all of FootballScoop’s finalists, go HERE.
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, also Garrett’s boss at Liberty, said this about Garrett when the Tigers officially announced his hiring: “I’ve known Jeremy since I was an assistant coach and he was a player at Ole Miss. He is a tremendous coach who has been involved in every level of the game from the high school ranks to the National Football League. Jeremy can teach and develop players, is a very good recruiter and is an outstanding individual who we’re excited to have join our staff.”
Here is more info on Garrett from his bio at AuburnTigers.com:
Garrett coached one of the most productive defensive fronts in college football in 2022 as Liberty led the country in tackles for loss (109) and ranked third in sacks (41). Under Garrett’s guidance, standout defensive end Durrell Johnson led the nation with 22.5 tackles for loss and added 8.0 sacks en route to being named to the Ted Henricks Award Watch List. Led by Johnson, three members of the Flames defensive line registered double-digit tackles for loss.
Garrett came to Liberty in 2022 after spending the previous two seasons as the assistant defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns (2020-21).
Garrett joined the Browns in 2020 and helped the run defense finish ninth in the league after finishing 30th the previous season. He helped defensive end Myles Garrett earn first team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors as he ranked among the league leaders in strip-sacks (tied for second with four), forced fumbles (tied for third with four), fumble recoveries (tied for third with two) and sacks (sixth with 12). Along with defensive end Olivier Vernon (nine), the Browns were one of just four teams to have a pair of teammates each record at least nine sacks in 2020.
The Browns finished the 2021 season fifth in the NFL in total defense, marking just the third time since 1970 the team ranked in the top-five and the club’s highest finish since 1987. Myles Garrett earned first team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors after setting the franchise single-season record with 16 sacks in 2021, including a team single-game record of 4.5 in Week 3. The 25 combined sacks between Garrett (16) and defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (9) were the second-most by a pair of Browns teammates in a season, trailing only the 26 by DE Reggie Camp (14) and LB Clay Matthews (12) in 1984.
