LITTLE ROCK — Coaches from Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and Ohio State are among the 40 nominees for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top assistant.
The Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation said Wednesday the nominees include Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown and Ohio State special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs.
The four have helped lead their teams to the top of the College Football Playoff rankings. Michigan and Alabama lead the country in scoring defense, while Ohio State and Clemson are near the top in total defense.
The nominees also include Arkansas State's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, Joe Cauthen.
Broyles is a former Arkansas coach who saw many assistants build successful careers at the professional and college level.
Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma won last year. This year's winner will be announced Dec. 6.
The full list of nominees appears below:
Alabama – Jeremy Pruitt, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Arkansas State – Joe Cauthen, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Army West Point – Jay Bateman, Defensive Coordinator
Auburn – Kevin Steele, Defensive Coordinator
Boise State – Scott Huff, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive
Washington State – Alex Grinch, Defensive Coordinator/Secondary
Brigham Young – Ed Lamb, Special Team Coordinator/Safeties
Clemson – Brent Venables, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Colorado – Jim Leavitt, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Colorado State – Will Friend, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
Georgia Southern – Chad Lunsford, Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends
Houston – Todd Orlando – Defensive Coordinator
Indiana – Tom Allen, Defensive Coordinator
Iowa State – Tom Manning, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
Louisiana Tech – Todd Fitch, Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers
LSU – Dave Aranda, Defensive Coordinator
Miami – Manny Diaz, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Michigan – Don Brown, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Missouri – Glen Elarbee, Offensive Line
Navy – Ivin Jasper, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Nebraska – Trent Bray, Linebackers
North Carolina – Larry Porter, Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs
North Carolina State – Ryan Nielsen, Defensive Line
Oklahoma State – Mike Yurcich, Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Old Dominion – Brian Scott, Offensive Coordinator
Ole Miss – Matt Luke, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
Ohio State – Kerry Coombs, Special Teams Coordinator/Cornerbacks
Penn State – Joe Moorhead, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Pittsburgh – Matt Canada, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
South Carolina – Travaris Robinson, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
Stanford – Mike Bloomgren, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
Temple – Phil Snow, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
Troy – Matt Moore, Co-Offensive Coordinator
UCF – Erik Chinander, Defensive Coordinator
USC – Clancy Pendergast, Defensive Coordinator
Wake Forest – Mike Elko, Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
Western Kentucky – Tony Levine, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Special Teams Coordinator
Western Michigan – Kirk Ciarrocca, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
West Virginia – Tony Gibson, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Wisconsin – Justin Wilcox, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers