A pair of former Arkansas football players are among the 15 semifinalists for the 2020 Broyles Award, which honors college football’s best assistant coach.
Kane Wommack, Indiana’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, and Rhett Lashlee, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Miami, are up for the award. Wommack was named head coach at South Alabama on Sunday.
Both coaches grew up in Northwest Arkansas. Wommack played high school football at Fayetteville High and was a fullback at Arkansas from 2005-06 before transferring to Southern Mississippi. His father is Dave Wommack, a former Arkansas defensive coordinator.
Lashlee set state passing records in high school at Shiloh Christian in Springdale and was a backup quarterback at Arkansas from 2002-04. He served as a graduate assistant for the Razorbacks in 2006.
Lashlee has twice been a finalist for the Broyles Award — as Auburn’s offensive coordinator in 2013 and SMU’s offensive coordinator last season. Under his guidance, the Hurricanes (8-2) have averaged 34 points per game this season, which ranks fifth in the ACC.
Wommack, 33, will be the youngest head coach in the FBS when he takes over at South Alabama. His Hoosiers defense leads the country in interceptions (17) despite playing only seven games.
Indiana (6-1) was ranked No. 7 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The Broyles Award is named for former Arkansas coach and athletics director Frank Broyles and is in its 25th season. Lashlee and Wommack were athletes at Arkansas while Broyles was the Razorbacks’ athletics director.
2020 Broyles Award semifinalists
Steve Sarkisian, Alabama offensive coordinator
Jeff Grimes, BYU offensive coordinator
Marcus Freeman, Cincinnati defensive coordinator
Chad Staggs, Coastal Carolina defensive coordinator
Brian Johnson, Florida offensive coordinator
Kane Wommack, Indiana defensive coordinator
Phil Parker, Iowa defensive coordinator
Tom Manning, Iowa State offensive coordinator
Rhett Lashlee, Miami (Fla.) offensvie coordinator
Phil Longo, North Carolina offensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz, Northwestern defensive coordinator
Clark Lea, Notre Dame defensive coordinator
Brian Hartline, Ohio State wide receivers coach
Jeff Lebby, Ole Miss offensive coordinator
Mike Elko, Texas A&M defensive coordinator