Virginia football head coach Bronco Mendenhall announced today (Dec. 15) the hiring of Shaun Nua (NEW-uh) as the defensive line coach to round out the Cavalier coaching staff. Nua has spent the last four seasons as the defensive line coach at Navy and was previously on Mendenhall’s staff at BYU from 2009-11.
Nua spent time on staff at BYU, not only under Mendenhall, but also with three new previously announced UVA assistant coaches: Robert Anae (offensive coordinator/inside receivers), Nick Howell (secondary) and Kelly Poppinga (special teams coordinator/outside linebackers).
During Nua’s tenure at Navy the Midshipmen have amassed a 35-16 record, four bowl appearances and three Commander-in-Chief Trophies.
Nua has helped the Navy defense in 2015 tie for the No. 1 ranking in the nation in fumbles recovered (15). The Midshipmen are No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin (+1.42).
Under Nua’s tutelage in 2014, Navy defensive end Will Anthony was named to the FBS All-Independent team and was named All-East, while senior defensive end Paul Quessenberry was selected to play in the Medal of Honor All-Star game. The 2013 Navy squad is just the fifth in Academy history to win at least nine games in a season, beat Army and win a bowl game. Nua helped Navy hold eight of its 13 opponents below their scoring average for the season.
Prior to his time at Navy, Nua spent three seasons at his alma mater, BYU. Over his final two seasons in Provo, Nua helped the Cougars achieve the nation’s 24th-best total defense in 2010 and the 13th-ranked defense in 2011. BYU won its bowl games both years while finishing the 2011 season ranked No. 25 in the final USA Today Coaches Poll with a 10-3 record.
As a player, Nua was a 6-foot-5, 280-pound defensive end at BYU from 2002-04 before being drafted in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nua played four years in the NFL, three seasons with Pittsburgh and one in Buffalo, including a winning trip to the Super Bowl XL with the Steelers his rookie year where he was teammates with former Cavaliers Heath Miller and James Farrior.
Nua earned second-team All-Mountain West Conference honors as a senior. He played in all 23 games of his BYU career, appearing in 12 games his junior season in 2002 and 11 games as a senior in 2004 (redshirted in 2003 due to an injury). He totaled 54 tackles in his two seasons, including 10 sacks and 16 tackles for loss.
Nua is a native of Pago Pago, American Samoa. He transferred to BYU from Eastern Arizona Junior College, where he earned Junior College All-America honors in 2001.
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Chris Graham
