Southern Miss football hires Fred Wyatt from Eastern Illinois as new defensive line coach
HATTIESBURG — Southern Miss football has found its new defensive line coach for the 2024 season.
Fred Wyatt is coming over from Eastern Illinois, where he held the same position and worked under new Southern Miss defensive coordinator Clay Bignell.
The Golden Eagles also made the hiring of running backs coach Micheal Spurlock official Wednesday.
Wyatt spent one season at Eastern Illinois, where his defensive line was ranked 30th among FCS teams in rushing defense (124.6 yards per game). Before that, he coached the defensive line at Missouri Western in 2021 and 2022, and he was a graduate assistant at Kansas State for two seasons.
Wyatt played collegiately at Northwestern from 2014 to 2018.
“Fred brings a wealth of defensive line knowledge to our program,” coach Will Hall said in a statement. “He grew up as the son of a great defensive line coach and then became a great defensive lineman at Northwestern. He is a rising star in the profession, and I cannot wait to get him with our guys.”
Wyatt, whose father is Buddy Wyatt, replaces Brandon Lacy, who was Southern Miss' defensive line coach since 2021.
The Golden Eagles' list of new coaches now includes Wyatt, Spurlock, Bignell and offensive coordinator Chip Long.
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss football hires Fred Wyatt as new defensive line coach
