Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze announced the hiring of T.J. Rushing as safeties coach and Roc Bellantoni as outside linebackers coach. Rushing brings Super Bowl champion experience and over 12 years of collegiate coaching, while Bellantoni returns to Auburn after a stint at Florida Atlantic and boasts 30 years of coaching experience.
, head coach Hugh Freeze announced Wednesday. Rushing, who joined Auburn’s staff in June 2024 as a special assistant to the head coach, will coach Auburn’s safeties, while Bellantoni, who was most recently at Florida Atlantic and coached at Auburn from 2021-22, will coach the Tigers’ outside linebackers.
Bellantoni has 30 years of coaching experience, including 17 years as a defensive coordinator and another four years as a special teams coordinator. His first season in College Station, he helped the Aggies lead the SEC and rank among the top 10 in the nation in total defense. His guidance helped A&M post a program-best 8-1 regular season record against all SEC opponents. The team boasted a top five ranking through the end of the season, which concluded with A&M's big win over North Carolina in the Orange Bowl, the program's first appearance in a New Year's 6 Bowl.
Before returning to Arizona State, Rushing was a defensive assistant at Stanford in 2015 working primarily with the cornerbacks. That year, behind All-Pac-12 selection Ronnie Harris, the Cardinal posted a 12-2 record, won the conference championship and defeated No. 5 Iowa in the Rose Bowl. Rushing was drafted after a collegiate career that put him among the greatest returners in Stanford history. He twice earned All-Pac-10 honors, including a spot as a first team specialist in 2004. Rushing's three kickoff return touchdowns are tied for the program record, and he left school ranking second in program history with 1,409 career kickoff return yards and third with an average of 27.1 yards per kickoff return.
Bellantoni spent the previous two seasons as defensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic, marking his second stint at the school, where from 2014-16 he was instrumental in recruiting many of the Owls that made the 2017 and 2018 Conference USA and Boca Raton Bowl Championships a reality. Bellantoni was named Auburn's edge linebackers coach and special teams coordinator in February 2022 after serving the previous year as a defensive analyst for the Tigers. In 2022, the Tigers’ top three tackles leaders were linebackers, including edge Derick Hall, who tallied 60 tackles. Hall had a team-leading 12 tackles for a loss of which seven were sacks while adding an interception, seven quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and one recovery.
Auburn Football Coaching Staff Changes College Football T.J. Rushing Roc Bellantoni
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