Per GoBearcats:
University of Cincinnati Defensive Coordinator Marcus Freeman was named one of five finalists for the Broyles Award Tuesday, the Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation announced. The Broyles Award annually honors college football’s top assistant coach.
UC’s fourth-year defensive coordinator joins BYU’s Jeff Grimes, Northwestern’s Mike Hankwitz, Alabama’s Steve Sarkisian and Indiana’s Kane Wommack on the finalist list.
The Bearcats (9-0) won American Athletic Conference Championship, their first outright league crown since 2009. UC was No. 8 in the final College Football Playoff rankings and will play in its first New Year’s Six game and its first New Year’s Day bowl since the 2009 season when the Bearcats battle No. 9 Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Freeman, who also mentors UC’s linebackers, has coached a dominant Bearcats defense which held eight of nine opponents under 24 points including facing three Top-25 offensives and limiting them to a combined 33 points. Cincinnati has allowed 16 TDs on defense this year, second in the NCAA FBS among teams with nine or more games.
The Bearcats rank in the NCAA’s Top-15 in five categories, including No. 2 in both interceptions (15) and team passing efficiency defense and rank tied for No. 7 in scoring defense (16.0) and No. 10 in total defense (314.4). UC has forced a turnover in 19-straight games, the longest active streak in the NCAA FBS, totaling AAC highs with 53 passes defended and 15 interceptions.
FootballOutsiders.com’s DFEI ratings have UC tied for fourth nationally while sitting No. 3 in defensive efficiency. Bill Connelly’s ESPN.com SP+ rankings list the Bearcats defense at No. 5 in the country.
UC had a school-record 17 players named to the All-AAC teams, including first-team defenders CB Coby Bryant (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville), CB Ahmad Gardner (Detroit, Michigan/Martin Luther King), DL Myjai Sanders (Jacksonville, Florida/Camden County), LB Jarell White (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle) and S James Wiggins (Miami, Florida/South Dade).
The Bearcats and Bulldogs will meet on Jan. 1, 2021 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is scheduled at noon ET and the game will air on ESPN and 700 WLW AM.
ABOUT THE BROYLES AWARD
The Broyles Award was created in 1996 recognizing Coach Frank Broyles’ legacy of selecting and developing great assistants during his hall of fame career as head coach at Arkansas. You can follow the Broyles Award on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
