Clemson assistant Brent Venables wins 2016 Broyles Award

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables won the 2016 Broyles Award for the top assistant coach in college football. Venables, who also coaches linebackers at Clemson, was honored, along with his fellow finalists, at a Tuesday luncheon at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Little Rock.

Venables was joined on the list of finalists by Jeremy Pruitt, defensive coordinator at Alabama; Jim Leavitt, defensive coordinator at Colorado; Don Brown, defensive coordinator at Michigan and Matt Canada, offensive coordinator at Pittsburgh.

Clemson’s defense lost seven players to the NFL but remained one of the top units in the country. Venables was a finalist last season, when he managed a similar defensive rebuild, and in 2006 at Oklahoma. The Tigers are ranked in the top 25 in 14 defensive categories.

“This is a great honor for Brent and well deserved,” coach Dabo Swinney said. “ He has done an outstanding job for us his entire time at Clemson (since 2012).”

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 12:16 AM with the headline "Clemson assistant Brent Venables wins 2016 Broyles Award."