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Ht: 6-5.5
Wt: 280
40: 3.2
| Date of Birth: |
09/30/1972 |
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| Biography: |
| Tyrone Nix, who earned the reputation of building outstanding defenses in his four seasons as defensive coordinator at Southern Mississippi, will share the defensive coordinator title along with John Thompson and will coach the defensive line at South Carolina. During his 10 years on the Southern Miss staff, Nix coached every position on defense. In his last four seasons, he served as the Golden Eagles' defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. In that 10-year period, he has tutored 12 All-Conference USA selections, four C-USA Defensive Player of the Year performers, and six All-America selections. USM has also enjoyed team success with Nix aboard, winning four C-USA championships and earning seven post-season bowl berths. "We feel really good about the addition of Tyrone Nix to our staff," said Coach Spurrier. "He will serve as co-coordinator of our defense, along with John Thompson. Tyrone has an excellent track record for coaching outstanding defenses and he is very familiar with John Thompson and Dave Wommack's style of defensive play, as the three of them coached together at Southern Miss. We believe Tyrone is an excellent coach and an excellent recruiter." Nix's Southern Miss defenses ranked among the nation's toughest over the past few years. In 2004, the Golden Eagles ranked second in the conference in pass efficiency defense, were tied for first with Louisville with 16 interceptions, ranked second in scoring defense and third in total defense. USM claimed a win in the New Orleans Bowl in Nix's final season. In 2003, the Southern Miss defensive unit ranked No. 5 in the nation in pass defense, No. 13 in pass efficiency defense, No. 14 in scoring defense and No. 23 in total defense. A trio of All-Americas - Rod Davis, Michael Boley and Etric Pruitt - led the defensive effort. Davis was a three-time All-America and is the C-USA career tackle leader (526) and tackle for loss leader (60.5). He is the first three-time All-America in the history of the school. Nix's coaching efforts were recognized that season, as he was honored as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation, finishing as a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's most outstanding assistant football coach. In 2002, Southern Miss ranked No. 4 nationally in pass efficiency defense, No. 10 in pass defense, and No. 15 in scoring defense. Going into the 2001 season, Nix had the distinction of being the youngest coordinator in the country (29 years of age at the time) but he quickly used that status to drive himself to even loftier heights in his profession. Despite losing seven defensive starters from the 2000 squad, Nix's 2001 USM defense ranked among the nation's leaders in scoring defense (8th), total defense (11th), pass efficiency defense (12th), rushing defense (13th) and turnover margin (21st). As defensive backs coach for the Golden Eagles in 2000, three of Nix's players signed NFL contracts, including Leo Barnes, who was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and C-USA's Defensive Player of the Year. In 1999, Nix coached Adalius Thomas, who was an All-America pick and member of the 2000 NFL Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. Nix was a standout linebacker at Southern Miss (1990-93) and was team captain his senior year. Nix's position coach his final two seasons at USM was John Thompson, who he now coordinates the Gamecock defense with. Nix coached alongside Thompson (1995-98) and Dave Wommack (1995-2000), USC's secondary coach, |
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