Dennis Thurman, the man who made the Jackson State football defense a juggernaut with Deion Sanders, will soon be leading a defense again.
Thurman is joining the Hawaii staff as defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. He spent last season as director of quality control and head defensive analyst at Colorado after coming over from Jackson State with Deion Sanders.
Thurman orchestrated one of the nation’s dominant units during his time at JSU. Jackson State ranked in the FCS Top 10 in 12 categories in fall of 2021: total sacks (53/1st), sacks per game (4.2/1st FCS), tackles per loss per game (8.8/1st), total tackles for loss (114/2nd), pass efficiency defense (95.94/1st), total defense (257.4 ypg/2nd), third down percentage defense (26.7/2nd), passing yards allowed (157.1 ypg/3rd), scoring defense (14.8 ppg/4th), fumble recoveries (13/t-3rd), takeaways (26/t-6th), and rushing defense (100.3 ypg/10th.
Jackson allowed two touchdowns or less in a game 11 times last season, and recorded multiple quarterback sacks in a game 12 times, including a school-record 10 sacks at Alabama A&M. DE James Houston IV ranked second in the conference and tied for 2nd in the FCS in both sacks (16.5) and tackles for loss (24.5) while leading the nation in forced fumbles (seven) on his way to becoming a sixth-round draft choice of the Detroit Lions in the 2022 NFL Draft.
JSU held its opponents to just 13.5 points per game in the 2022 season under Thurman’s leadership as it went 12-1, winning its second-consecutive SWAC title.
He will now look to help Hawaii build a championship defense of its own.