Justin Wilcox (American football)

Justin Wilcox (born November 12, 1976) is a college football coach, who is currently the defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Early years

Born in Eugene, Oregon, Wilcox grew up as the younger of two sons on a family farm (wheat and cherries) in nearby Junction City. He played quarterback at Junction City High School and led the team to the 3A state title as a junior in 1993. He graduated in 1995 and considered Stanford and Arizona, but followed family tradition and accepted a scholarship to Oregon under head coach Mike Bellotti.^[1]

Playing career

After redshirting his first year at Oregon, Wilcox found himself buried on the depth chart and switched to defensive back. A nickel back as a redshirt freshman, he lost most the 1996 season to a knee injury. Wilcox became a fixture at safety until his senior season of 1999, when he was asked to fill a void at cornerback.^[2] He was invited to an NFL training camp with the Washington Redskins in 2000, but did not make the final roster.^[1]

Coaching career

Wilcox began his career as a college football coach in 2001 as a graduate assistant at Boise State, under new head coach Dan Hawkins. After two seasons as a GA, he left for the Bay Area to coach the linebackers at California under head coach Jeff Tedford. ^[2]

Boise State

After three seasons at Cal, Wilcox returned to Boise State in 2006 as the defensive coordinator under new head coach Chris Petersen. In four years the teams lost only four games, with a 49-4 record.^[2] His defenses at BSU were statistically among the highest-rated in the nation during his four years with the Broncos.^[3]

Tennessee

Following the 2009 season, Wilcox accepted the defensive coordinator job at Tennessee under new head coach Derek Dooley. In late December 2010, it was reported that Wilcox was a candidate to replace Will Muschamp, who left Texas for Florida.^[4] On New Year's Day, Wilcox announced that he would return to Tennessee for the 2011 season.^[5]

Washington

Early on January 2, 2012, reports emerged that Wilcox was to become the new defensive coordinator at Washington, under head coach Steve Sarkisian. The position was vacant due to Nick Holt's termination days earlier.^[6] The announcement was made official later that night.^[7]

University of Southern California

Wilcox served as the defensive coordinator for USC for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, as well as most of the 2015 season. He was terminated by Head Coach Clay Helton on December 6, 2015.^[8] For the 2015 season the Trojans finished 50th nationally in scoring defense (25.7 points per game) and 65th in total defense (400.8 yards per game).^[9]

University of Wisconsin–Madison

On January 28, 2016, it was announced that Wilcox was hired to be the defensive coordinator for the Wisconsin Badgers.^[10]

Personal

Wilcox is the son of Dave Wilcox, an All-Pro linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Inducted in 2000, he played 11 seasons in the NFL, from 1964 to 1974, all with the 49ers.^[2] Dave played college football at Boise Junior College and Oregon. Justin's brother Josh Wilcox was three years ahead in school and played tight end for the Ducks and two seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, and is now a radio host in Portland, Oregon.^[1] His show ended at the end of the 2015 season.

References

External links

• Go Huskies.com - UW athletics - football - Justin Wilcox