With Greg Mattison’s departure, Michigan needs a replacement for the defensive line coach. All signs point to Shaun Nua, Arizona State’s D-line coach, to be the guy:
https://twitter.com/rickdun/status/1084895350283034625
Nua, who is Samoan, played at BYU and won a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers.
Via ASU site:
Veteran defensive line coach Shaun Nua enters his first season as the defensive line coach for Sun Devil Football. Nua spent the previous six seasons coaching the defensive line at the Naval Academy.
Navy compiled a 52-27 (.658) record during Nua’s tenure, beating Army four times, earning bowl bids in each of the six seasons, winning four of those and winning three Commander-In-Chief Trophies.
“Shaun Nua is a well-respected and talented young coach with a bright future ahead of him,” said Edwards. “He is known for the high energy he brings while coaching his players and also for being an incredibly caring and compassionate person off the field. He is exactly the kind of person we want coaching at Arizona State.”
“I’m excited. I’m honored. I’m ready. This is literally a dream come true for me,” Nua said. “I am very familiar with the Sun Devil program and have experience in the state as Arizona is truly where I got my start in collegiate football. I look forward to helping Coach Edwards and his staff achieve their goals at ASU.”
The Midshipmen went 7-6 this past season with a dominating effort in the Military Bowl, defeating Virginia, 49-7. Despite the six losses, Navy did not lose a contest by more than 10 points and allowed just 26.3 points per game and finished in the Top-50 in total defense.
Under Nua, defensive end Tyler Sayles finished third in the American Athletic Conference this season among ends with a 8.3 run-stop percentage despite playing the third-most run snaps of any end in the conference.
Navy finished the 2016 campaign with a 9-5 mark and a 7-1 record in the American Athletic Conference despite a season that saw the Mids have 102 missed games by starters or key contributors. The Mids played Temple in the AAC Championship game and played in a bowl game (Armed Forces) for the 13th time in the last 14 years. The nine wins tied for the fifth most wins in school history.
In 2015, Navy won a school-record 11 games against just two losses, qualified for a bowl game for the 12th time in the last 13 years, won a bowl game for the 10th time in school history (beat Pittsburgh, 44-28, in the Military Bowl), won a bowl game for a third straight year for the first time in school history, defeated Army for a series-record 14th consecutive year, won the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy for the third time in the last four years, won the Lambert Trophy as the best team in the East for the first time since 1963, finished 18th in the country in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls and shared the West Division title of the American Athletic Conference with Houston in Navy’s first year of being in a conference after being an Independent for 134 years.
Defensive end Will Anthony was named First-Team All-AAC and First-Team All-East.
As a team, the defense finished the 2015 season ranked 32nd in rushing defense (143.0), 40th in total defense (364.9), 26th in scoring defense (21.8), 12th in red zone defense (.737), 13th in turnovers gained (27), first in fumbles recovered (15), third in turnover margin (+1.46), first in fewest penalties per game (3.1) and first in fewest penalty yards per game (26.1).
Navy finished the 2014 season with an 8-5 record, won a bowl game for just the ninth time in school history (beat San Diego State, 17-16, in the Poinsettia Bowl) and defeated Army for a series-record 13th consecutive year.
Navy finished the 2013 campaign with a 9-4 record, won the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy for the ninth time in the last 11 years, qualified for a bowl game for the 10th time in the last 11 years, won a bowl game for just the eighth time in school history (beat Middle Tennessee, 24-6, in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl) and defeated Army for a series-record 12th consecutive year.
Nua helped lead Navy to an 8-5 record in 2012 and a berth in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Navy defeated Air Force, 28-21, in overtime and Army, 17-13, to win the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy.
Nua came to the Naval Academy from Brigham Young, where he assisted for three seasons. He is a 2005 graduate of BYU where he received his bachelor’s degree and would go on to earn his master’s degree from the university as well.
Over his final two seasons in Provo, Nua helped the Cougars achieve the nation’s 24th-best total defense in 2010 and the 13th-ranked defense in 2011. BYU won its bowl games both years while finishing the 2011 season ranked No. 25 in the final USA Today Coaches Poll with a 10-3 record.
As a player, Nua was a 6-foot-5, 280-pound defensive end at BYU from 2002-04 before being drafted in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nua played four years in the NFL, three seasons with Pittsburgh and one in Buffalo, including a winning trip to the Super Bowl with the Steelers his rookie year in 2006.
Nua earned Second-Team All-Mountain West Conference honors as a senior. He played in all 23 games of his BYU career, appearing in 12 games his junior season in 2002 and 11 games as a senior in 2004 (redshirted in 2003 due to an injury). He totaled 54 tackles in his two seasons, including 10 sacks and 16 tackles for loss.
Born on May 22, 1981, Nua is a native of Pago Pago, American Samoa. He transferred to BYU from Eastern Arizona Junior College, where he earned Junior College All-America honors. He prepped at Tafuna High School in Tafuna, American Samoa.
