Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley has been named the winner of the 2018 Broyles Award. The ceremony was held Tuesday in Little Rock, Ark.
The other finalists were:
- Army defensive coordinator Jay Bateman
- Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chip Long
- Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott
- Mississippi State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop
The voting was the closest in the 23-year history of the award. (Full disclosure: I am a Broyles Award voter, and voted for Locksley.)
Locksley is in his third season on Nick Saban's staff and first as offensive coordinator.
Locksley arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2016 as an offensive analyst after the Maryland staff, where he was offensive coordinator, was swept out with Randy Edsall's firing. After one year on the support staff, Locksley was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2017 and then to the Tide's sole offensive coordinator in 2018, where he has directed the most explosive offense in program history.
Alabama is second nationally in yards per play (7.92) and scoring offense (47.9 points per game). Sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was announced Monday as a Heisman Trophy finalist, and the 13-0 Crimson Tide are set to face Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29.
The 48-year-old Locksley played defensive back at Towson and began his coaching career there as the defensive backs and special teams coach in 1992. He spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Navy Prep and later served as offensive coordinator at Illinois and Maryland, and served as New Mexico's head coach from 2009-11.
Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott won the honor in 2017, and he was preceded by Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, making the Tigers the first team to post back-to-back Broyles Award winners.
Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews won the inaugural Broyles Award in 1996, and past winners include David Cutcliffe (Tennessee, 1997), Kirby Smart (Alabama, 2009), Gus Malzahn (Auburn, 2010), Pat Narduzzi (Michigan State, 2013), Tom Herman (Ohio State, 2014) and Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma, 2015).
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.