Rudzinski Among Nominees for Broyles Award

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia defensive coordinator John Rudzinski was named one of 63 nominees for the Broyles Award, which annually honors college football’s top assistant coach.

The Broyles Award was created in 1996 recognizing Coach Frank Broyles’ legacy of selecting and developing great assistants during his hall of fame career as head coach at Arkansas. Proceeds from the Broyles Award benefit the Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation, which provides free education and support resources for Alzheimer’s caregivers nationwide. Virginia head coach Tony Elliott won the award as the co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach at Clemson in 2017.

In his fourth season at Virginia, Rudzinski has developed one of the top defensive units in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2025. The Cavaliers are allowing 22.1 points per game in seven conference games this season, the third-lowest of any ACC team. The Virginia defense has come up clutch when it counts with two defensive touchdowns in a road win at Louisville, a game-clinching safety against Washington State, a stop at the one-inch line in a road victory at North Carolina and a late game-sealing interception return for a touchdown at Cal.

On Nov. 15 in Durham, UVA held Duke, ranked No. 4 passing offense in the country going into the contest, to season lows in total offense (255) rushing yards (42), passing yards (213), pass completions (18), points scored (17) and first downs (11).

Virginia leads the ACC and is ranked third in the country in third down conversion defense. Opponents have been successful on 43 of 151 third down attempts (29%). Only No. 3 Texas A&M (22%) and No. 2 Indiana (26%) sport a better third down defense than UVA. The Cavaliers have held its opponents without a touchdown in the first half in six of its 11 games this season and are 8-0 this season when the defense forces a turnover.

FAN VOTE

For the first time in the 30-year history of the Broyles Award, fans across America will have a direct voice in deciding which assistant coaches advance to the semifinalist round, finalist round, and ultimately who wins the award.

The Broyles Award Fan Vote launched today (Nov. 25). Fans can cast votes for their favorite nominees throughout each stage of the competition. Each individual fan vote counts toward one collective “fan vote” in the official selection process of each round. Each vote is also an entry to win two VIP passes to the 30th Annual Broyles Award Ceremony.

Fan Voting Schedule:
Semifinal Fan Vote: November 25 at noon CST through November 30 at 11 PM CST
Finalist Fan Vote: December 2 at noon CST through December 7 at 11 PM CST
Winner Fan Vote: January 20 at noon CST through January 26 at 11 PM CST

Fans can vote at BroylesAward.com/Vote.