Clark Lea to hire Syracuse's Justin Lustig as special teams coordinator

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Published Dec 31, 2020

Clark Lea to hire Syracuse's Justin Lustig as special teams coordinator

Sean Williams • TheDoreReport

Recruiting Editor

@SeanW_Rivals

According to Yahoo Sports columnist Pete Thamel, new Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea is set to hire Syracuse special teams coordinator Justin Lustig to the same role with the Commodores.

A deal is being finalized, according to Thamel.

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In addition to coaching special teams, Lustig also coached running backs (2017) and outside receivers (2018-20) at Syracuse and also earned a promotion to assistant head coach in 2019.

This past season, Nykeim Johnson was among the ACC's top kick returners, earning All-ACC Second Team honors averaging 23.2 yards per return which currently ranks 33rd in the country.

Lustig also helped coach punter Sterling Hofrichter, who was selected in the 7th round (228th pick) by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2020 NFL Draft. Hofrichter was a three-time captain and Ray Guy Award finalist in 2019 while averaging 43.2 yards per punt during his career with the Orange.

This past season, Lustig helped mold punter Nolan Cooney into All-ACC Third Team honors while averaging 44.7 yards per punt.

Lustig’s kicking and coverage teams have ranked among the best in college football. The Orange have led the ACC in net punting every year under Lustig and finished in the top 10 nationally in 2019 (3rd - 43.03) and 2017 (10th - 41.3).

His 2017 punt team was No. 4 in the country in punt return defense (2.67 ypr) and set the school season record for fewest opponent punt returns (9).

Additionally, Syracuse was No. 1 in the conference in kickoff coverage (42.7 net avg.). In 2019, Syracuse ranked fifth in the FBS in punt return defense (1.7 ypr) and surrendered just 17 punt return yards, the fewest in program history.

Lustig was a nominee for the Broyles Award back in 2018, which goes to the country's top assistant coach.