Texas Defensive Coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski Named Semifinalist for Broyles Award

The fourth-year defensive coordinator has been chosen as one of 15 semifinalists for the nation's top assistant coach in college football.

Texas Longhorns defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski speaks to media at the Sheraton Hotel on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Texas Longhorns will face the Washington Huskies in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2024. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Texas Longhorns have become one of the most effective defenses in the country, currently leading the Southeastern Conference with just 11.67 points allowed per game and 15 total touchdowns this season.

Although the exceptional talents on the Longhorns' roster have been the stars of the show, the mastermind behind it all, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, is finally getting his moment of national recognition.

Kwiatkowski was announced as one of 15 semifinalists for the 2024 Frank Broyles Award on Tuesday, an honor that represents the best college assistant football coach in the country.

When head coach Steve Sarkisian took the position at Texas in 2021, he offered Kwiatkowski the opportunity to join him on the Forty Acres. Kwiatkowski had previous stints at Montana State, Boise State, where his team finished second nationally in defense in 2010, and Washington.

Since his arrival, Kwiatkowski has been able to transform a program that allowed an average of over 400 offensive yards per game in his first year to less than 250 this season, which ranks third in the nation. The Longhorns have held every opponent, except Florida, to under 300 yards of total offense and limited two of them, Colorado State and ULM, to under 200 yards.

His players have continuously praised his efforts throughout the season for their individual success, most notably defensive back Jahdae Barron. The fifth-year senior currently co-leads the team with four interceptions caught, supplying the team's 18 total, and eight pass break-ups.

"Just hats off to PK. I tell y'all all the time, he's a genius," Barron said during Monday's media availability. "He just always puts us in a position to make plays. He's dialing up something right now for us to go work with. So [we're] just trusting him and trusting the process and just executing what he puts out there in front of us."

Officials from the Frank and Barbara Broyles Foundation will choose five finalists from the list, and the winner will be announced at the ceremony held on Feb. 13, 2025. The Longhorns have only had one previous winner of the award when former offensive coordinator Greg Davis received the accolade in 2005, but Kwiatkowski hopes to bring it home to Austin once again.

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