FOLLOW OHIO FOOTBALL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (November 14, 2023) – Ohio football Defensive Coordinator
Spence Nowinsky is a nominee for the 2023
Broyles Award, as announced by the
Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation today. The Broyles Award honors college football's top assistant coaches.
Under Nowinsky's guidance, Ohio's defense leads the MAC and is ranked fifth in FBS football, holding opponent offenses to 15.10 points and 267.1 yards per game. So far this season, the Bobcats' defense held FAU to five rushing yards (Sept. 9), Power 5 opponent Iowa State (Sept. 16) to just seven points and kept Western Michigan (Oct. 21) to 79 rushing yards, marking their lowest of the season.
Individually, graduate student linebacker
Bryce Houston (Lewis Center, Ohio) is ranked eighth in FBS football and third in the Mid-American Conference in total tackles (105). Fellow graduate student linebacker
Keye Thompson (Barberton, Ohio) is sixth in the MAC with 80 tackles. Houston and Thompson have won MAC East Defensive Player of the Week honors four times this season.
Ohio's 2022 defense aided the Bobcats in their fourth 10-win season in program history, highlighted by an undefeated record on Frank Solich Field and an overtime victory in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl. They finished second in the MAC in points allowed per game (21.1), less than a quarter of a point behind the leader. After their seven-game winning streak against MAC opponents, defensive end
Jack McCrory, linebacker
Keye Thompson and safety
Tariq Drake earned All-MAC Third Team honors.
Nowinsky's prior coaching positions include Miami (Ohio), Illinois State, Emporia State and his alma mater, Minnesota State.
The 57 nominees in this year's class were selected from approximately 1,500 assistant coaches representing 131 FBS programs across the country. The Broyles Award selection process includes the
Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), broadcasters, a college football hall-of-fame selection committee, and current college head coaches.
A selection committee of distinguished former head coaches, broadcasters and a committee representing the FWAA will select 15 semi-finalists, five finalists from the list of nominees, and an overall winner.
The Broyles Award is presented by
Oaklawn, Hot Springs, Arkansas. Proceeds from the 2023 Broyles Award support the Broyles Foundation's mission to provide a game plan for Alzheimer's caregivers through education, support, and resources. The Broyles Foundation can be followed on
Facebook,
X and
Instagram.
About the Broyles Award
The Broyles Award was created in 1996 recognizing Coach Frank Broyles' legacy of selecting and developing great assistants during his hall of fame career as head coach at Arkansas. You can follow the Broyles Award on
Facebook,
X and
Instagram.
About the National College Football Awards Association
The Broyles Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football's most prestigious awards. The NCFAA's 25 awards have honored more than 800 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.
About the Football Writers Association of America
The
Football Writers Association of America, founded in 1941, consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-American team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at
tiger@fwaa.com.
About Oaklawn
Located in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas,
Oaklawn is one of the premiere Thoroughbred racetracks in the country since 1904, best known as home of the Arkansas Derby. Oaklawn holds live racing from Dec 8, 2023 to May 4, 2024 and simulcast racing throughout the year.
#OUohyeah
