BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Andy LaRussa has been named a Broyles Award nominee, the Frank & Barbara Broyles Foundation announced Tuesday.
The annual Broyles Award celebrates excellence in assistant coaching and has been the premier award for college football's top assistant coach since 1996. The 63 nominees in this year's class were selected from approximately 1,500 assistant coaches representing FBS programs across the country.
LaRussa has found talent from all over the world and produced some of the top specialists in WKU program history since his arrival ahead of the 2019 season.
Cole Maynard currently leads the nation in punting average at 48.9 yards per punt on 48 punts, which is on pace to be a single-season WKU record. Maynard was a member of the Ray Guy Award Watch List the last two seasons, and his 71-yard punt in the 2025 season opener is tied for the sixth-longest punt in the nation this season. He has twice been named to the Ray's 8 List this season and has twice been named CUSA Special Teams Player of the Week.
Kicker John Cannon has made 12 field goals, while kickoff specialist Jack Cassidy – a Northern Ireland native who had never played in a game or even watched a full football game prior to the season – has made two field goals beyond 50 yards, including a 55-yarder, which is tied for the 14th-longest in the country this season and is the second-longest in WKU program history.
LaRussa, who is in his seventh season at WKU, coached 2024 CUSA Special Teams Player of the Year, Lucas Carneiro, who went 18-for-19 on field goals with a program-record 18 straight makes that season, including 6-for-6 from 50-plus yards to become the only CUSA kicker to go 6-for-6 from 50-plus yards in a season. Carneiro was a 2024 Lou Groza Award Semifinalist. LaRussa also produced 2024 Second Team All-CUSA long snapper Rex Robich. During his time at WKU, LaRussa has coached kicker Brayden Narveson, who spent time in the NFL following his Hilltopper career, and punter John Haggerty, a native of Australia who has been one of the top punters in the CFL, among other standout specialists.
LaRussa's specialists at WKU have three of the top nine spots in the record book for career made field goals; four of the top nine spots for made field goals in a season, including the top spot; two of the top four spots for career field goal percentage (min. 20 attempts), including the record; three of the top nine spots for single-season field goal percentage (min. 10 attempts), including the record; eight of the top-10 longest field goals in program history; the top three longest made field goal streaks; and four of the top six spots in single-season punting average (min. 40 attempts) in program history, not including Maynard this season.
Beyond the records, special teams highlights since LaRussa's arrival at WKU include the Hilltoppers winning the 2019 First Responder Bowl on a 52-yard game-winning field goal as time expired; the Hilltoppers blocking two field goals – one late in the fourth quarter and one in overtime – during the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl, before making a 29-yard walk-off field goal to win the game; and WKU making a 50-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the 2024 regular-season finale to send the program to the Conference USA Championship Game.
The Broyles Award winner will be announced live at the 30th Annual Broyles Award Ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Broyles Award selection committee is made up of former Hall of Fame coaches, members of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and legendary broadcasters. The selection committee will vote to advance 15 semifinalists, five finalists and one overall winner.
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. 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. Fans can vote at BroylesAward.com/Vote.
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 supports resources for Alzheimer's caregivers nationwide.
WKU will close the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 29, at Jax State. Kickoff at AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama, is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. With a win, the Hilltoppers will host the Conference USA Championship Game on Friday, Dec. 5.
For all the latest on WKU Football, follow @WKUFootball on Twitter and Instagram, and like the WKU Football Facebook page.
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