USC officially announces former Houston DC Doug Belk as secondary coach
In a span of less than an hour Saturday, former DBs coach Donte Williams announced his departure from USC after four seasons and the Trojans promptly announced the hiring of former Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk as his replacement.
Belk was a graduate assistant at Alabama from 2014-16, then the cornerbacks coach at West Virginia from 2017-18, the co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach at Houston in 2019-20 and the defensive coordinator/safeties coach the last three seasons. He was named a semifinalist for the prestigious Broyles Award -- recognizing the top assistant coach in college football -- in 2021.
"Doug Belk is another tremendous addition to our staff," USC coach Lincoln Riley said in a statement. "His impressive body of work and reputation as a high-level coach and recruiter speak for themselves. I'm excited to welcome him to USC."
Belk is the third new addition to the USC defensive staff, following the hires of defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn (from UCLA) and linebackers coach Matt Entz (currently the head coach at North Dakota State). Defensive line coach Shaun Nua and outside linebackers coach Roy Manning are the remaining holdovers on the defensive staff -- for now.
Belk was available as Houston made a coaching change at the top in firing Dana Holgorsen and bringing in Willie Fritz as head coach.
In his 5 seasons as DC/co-DC at Houston, Belk coached 13 All-American Athletic Conference honorees, including five first-team selections and eight All-Big 12 Conference honorees, including two first-teamers. Five players from Belk's defenses have been selected in the NFL draft, including DL Payton Turner (28th overall pick in 2021 by the New Orleans Saints) and DE Logan Hall (33rd overall pick in 2022 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
In 2021, Belk led one of the best pass defenses in college football, allowing only 194 yards per game through the air, ranking 18th nationally. Houston's 55.2 completion percentage allowed ranked eighth nationally. The 20.5 points per game allowed ranked 19th in the country and the 302.2 yards allowed ranked sixth. The Cougar defensive line, nicknamed "Sack Ave", racked up 45.0 sacks, ranked fifth nationally. That season, Belk was named a semifinalist for the Broyles Award and was on the 2022 summer edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football 40 Under 40 list.
The last two seasons didn't go as well for the Cougars, who ranked 105th last year (421.6 yards per game allowed) and 115th this year (423.9).