Mike Rhoades is moving quickly to establish himself at Penn State after taking over the head coaching position. He had his introductory press conference on Thursday discussing his vision for how he wants to build the program.
The last hurdle before hitting the recruiting trail and transfer portal was to finalize his coaching staff. It looks like he has his group of assistants, bringing with him four coaches from VCU and welcoming the return of a program legend. Considering the success that Rhoades and his staff built at VCU, itâs a good sign they are following him to State College to try and replicate that success.
Here is the coaching staff that Rhoades put together.
Jamal Brunt has been an assistant under Rhoades at VCU for the past six seasons. He is the defensive coordinator on the staff, creating a top ranked defense in the country. Prior to VCU, he was at Miami and Richmond. Brunt is a proven recruiter who helped Miami bring in their top ranked recruiting classes of all time and VCU the highest rated classes in the conference.
Coaching History
- 2003-05: Randolph-Macon, Assistant Coach
- 2005-07: Richmond, Director of Operations
- 2007-13: Richmond, Assistant Coach
- 2013-15: Richmond, Associate Head Coach
- 2015-18: Miami (Fla.), Assistant Coach
- 2018-21: VCU, Assistant Coach
- 2021-23: VCU, Associate Head Coach
- 2023-present: Penn State, Associate Head Coach
A staple on Rhoadesâ coaching staff, J.D. Byers has been an assistant coach at all three of his previous locations. Byers has helped VCU bring in the A-10âs top rated recruiting class in three of the last four seasons. Heâs also been impactful developing the talent within the program. At Rice he developed Marcus Evans into a two-time all-conference player. During his time at VCU, he mentored NBA Draft picks NahâShon Hyland and Vince Williams Jr. Byers was also a great college player at Lebanon Valley College, becoming a NABC All-American in 2005.
Coaching History
- 2005-06: Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison, Graduate Assistant
- 2006-07: Lebanon Valley, Assistant Coach
- 2007-10: Randolph-Macon, Assistant Coach
- 2010-11: St. Francis (Pa.), Assistant Coach
- 2011-14: Radford, Assistant Coach
- 2014-17: Rice, Assistant Coach
- 2017-23: VCU, Assistant Coach
- 2023-present: Penn State, Assistant Coach
Brent Scott was with Rhoades at both Rice and VCU. Before joining his staff, Scott also spent time as an assistant at TCU and LSU. While at VCU, he…
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