Shaun Nua named Defensive Line Coach of the Year for work at Michigan

Former Michigan football defensive line coach Shaun Nua won the Defensive Line Coach of the Year on Thursday afternoon. This comes on the heels of his reported hiring to join Lincoln Riley and his staff at USC.

FootballScoop presented the award, which is voted on by previous winners and presented by AstroTurf.

Nua just wrapped up his third season in Ann Arbor after being hired ahead of the 2019 season. He was the lone holdover on the defensive side of the ball through the coordinator change in 2021. Nua helped pass rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo unlock another gear and combine for 25 sacks this season.

“Hutchinson simply accessed another level as a senior,” FootballScoop wrote on Nua’s work with the defensive line. “Hutchinson finished third on the team with 69 tackles, led the club with 16.5 tackles for loss, and set a school record with 14 sacks, third-most in the nation. Among those 14 sacks, 2.5 came against Washington, three came at Penn State’s expense, and the Wolverine legacy dumped Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud in Michigan’s breakthrough 42-27 victory.”

Nua also squeezed career-best football out of sophomore defensive tackles Christopher Hinton and Mazi Smith. Hinton declared for the 2022 NFL Draft earlier this week. Smith projects to return to Michigan for his fourth season.

Michigan’s Big Ten Championship season saw them finish top 30 against both the run (126.4 yards per game) and pass (118.4 passer rating allowed). Michigan’s defense finished as the eighth-best scoring unit in the nation, allowing 17.4 points per game.

Reports surfaced earlier this week that Nua would be departing Michigan football for USC to join Riley’s staff.

Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines have not named a replacement. Nua is the only assistant to depart the Michigan coaching staff so far this offseason.