Baylor Hires Ronnie Wheat as Safeties, Special Teams Coach
Baylor lost its safeties and special teams coach Matt Powledge to Oregon in December, becoming Dan Lanning’s second hire as the Ducks head man, and also becoming the new Co-Defensive Coordinator in Eugene.
On Thursday, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda addressed the vacancy left by Powledge and hired Ronnie Wheat to take over the duties that Powledge left behind.
Wheat has been the safeties coach under Jay Norvell for the past two seasons but spent six years with LSU prior to that. During his time at LSU, Wheat was a lead defensive analyst for the Tigers and worked under three defensive coordinators during that six-year span: John Chavis, Kevin Steele, and Dave Aranda.
According to Bears Illustrated, 247Sports’ Baylor affiliate site, “Wheat helped coach an impressive group of linebackers that included future NFL Draft picks like Devin White, Kendell Beckwith, Duke Riley, Deion Jones, Kwon Alexander and Lamin Barrow. He was also instrumental in on-campus recruiting alongside Aranda and two other defensive coordinators, helping the Tigers reel in the likes of four-star middle linebackers Josh White and Antoine Sampah in the current 2020 class, with both inking with the Tigers during December’s Early Signing Period.”
With Wheat now on staff, Aranda can now turn towards finding a wide receivers coach, as current receivers coach Chansi Stuckey is expected to join the Notre Dame staff for the same responsibilities.
