Georgia hires Florida State's Jeremy Pruitt as defensive coordinator

Jeremy Pruitt was the architect of BCS champ Florida State's No. 1 scoring defense this season. (Jae C. Hong/AP) Georgia will have a BCS champion defensive

Jeremy Pruitt was the architect of BCS champ Florida State's No. 1 scoring defense this season. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

Georgia will have a BCS champion defensive coordinator roaming its sidelines next season. Florida State coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, fresh off a win over Auburn in the BCS Championship Game, will be Georgia's new defensive coordinator, the school announced on Tuesday.

The news was first reported by Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Towers reported that Pruitt met with Bulldogs coach Mark Richt in Athens on Tuesday. Pruitt replaces Todd Grantham, who left earlier this week to take over the defense under Bobby Petrino at Louisville. In a statement, Richt simply said, "I'm ecstatic."

Pruitt, meanwhile, said he is excited to join the Bulldogs.

"This is an outstanding professional and personal opportunity," said Pruitt. "I'm looking forward to meeting the current players and getting on the road to visit with recruits."

Pruitt helped the Seminoles finish the season with the country's No. 3 total defense (281.4 yards allowed per game) and No. 1 scoring defense (12.1 points allowed per game). In Florida State's 34-31 BCS title win over Auburn on Jan. 6, the Seminoles held the No. 1 rushing offense in the country to 232 rushing yards on the ground. Auburn averaged more than 320 rushing yards per game this season.

Pruitt has SEC experience, having spent three seasons on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama prior to joining Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles. According to ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Pruitt will be paid $850,000 annually at Georgia. That's a hefty raise from the coach's salary during his only season in Tallahassee.

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