Staff Report

 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Rotary Club of Little Rock announced Wednesday that Marshall defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Chuck Heater is among 34 nominated for the 2015 Broyles Award.

The Broyles Award honors the top assistant college football coach in America and was established in 1996 to honor legendary Arkansas Head Coach Frank Broyles. Coach Broyles had a track record of producing some of the most successful assistant coaches in college football history.

The only other Conference USA assistant coach nominated was Louisiana Tech offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tony Petersen, who was also a former Thundering Herd quarterback and assistant coach.

Heater’s defense has been superb in 2015, ranking in the top 15 nationally in the following categories:

1st: Passes defended (83)

1st: Pass breakups (69)

1st: Pass effi ciency defense (92.44)

1st: Yards/Pass Attempt Allowed (5.2)

T-1st: Fourth-down stops (15)

3rd: Completion Percentage Allowed (47.6)

6th: Red Zone Defense (.688)

6th: 3-and-outs (5.3/game)

T-7th: Turnovers Gained (25)

T-7th: Fumbles Recovered (11)

8th: Scoring Defense (15.6)

8th: Kickoff Return Defense (16.93)

T-8th: Fumbles Forced (15)

9th: 3-and-out percentage (37.4, 58-155)

T-14th: Defensive touchdowns (3)

15th: Red Zone Touchdown Percentage Allowed (.438)

T-15th: Interceptions (14)

The five finalists will be announced on Monday. The 2015 Broyles Award winner will be announced on Tuesday, December 8th at 11:30 a.m. at the Marriott Hotel in Little Rock.

Marshall (9-2 overall, 6-1 C-USA) will travel to Western Kentucky (9-2, 7-0) Friday for a 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT kickoff in a game that will televised on FOX Sports 1. The game’s winner will face the winner of Saturday’s Louisiana Tech (8-3, 6-1)-Southern Miss (8-3, 6-1) matchup in the Conference USA Championship game next Saturday, Dec. 5 at 12 p.m. ET.