Texas hiring ex-MSU DC Scottie Hazelton as special assistant

Per a report on June 27 from Bruce Feldman of The Athletic/FOX, Texas football is expected to hire former Michigan State Spartans defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton as a special assistant to the head coach.

Texas football adds veteran defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton to the support staff

The report from Feldman breaking the news of Texas hiring Hazelton as a special assistant to the head coach Steve Sarkisian was later confirmed by Inside Texas. IT could not confirm the particular role Hazelton will serve on Texas's support staff beyond some speculation from Eric Nahlin that he could be in a role similar to former TCU head coach Gary Patterson a couple of years ago.

Hazelton is an experienced and well-respected coaching mind in the collegiate ranks over multiple decades of coaching experience. He also has coaching experience at multiple levels, ranging from high school to the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars for a few years in the mid-2010s.

In his nearly three decades of coaching experience, where he has mostly coached linebackers and held multiple defensive coordinator roles in college.

Most recently, he was defensive coordinator for Michigan State from 2020-2023. Hazelton also has some coaching experience against the Longhorns from his time as the defensive coordinator in 2019 under head coach Chris Klieman's staff with the Kansas State Wildcats.

He's also held various defensive coordinator and assistant coach roles in the FBS in the last two decades with the Wyoming Cowboys, Nevada Wolfpack, and USC Trojans.

In 2011, Hazelton was the defensive coordinator with the FCS National Champion North Dakota State Bison. North Dakota State ranked first nationally in scoring defense (12.7 points allowed per game) during their national title-winning 2011 season.

After North Dakota State won that national title under then-head coach Craig Bohl in 2011, the Bison went on a historic run winning seven of the next eight national championships during a thoroughly dominant 2010s decade for the program.

Hazelton joins former Arkansas-Pine Bluff special teams coordinator Chris Forestier among the two hires Texas has made to the support staff as special assistants to the head coach this offseason. Forestier is expected to assist with game-planning and personnel on special teams under Jeff Banks for the Longhorns entering the 2024 season.

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