Following an 11-2 season, Eli Drinkwitz recently brought in a new defensive coordinator and now appears set to add one of the most well respected defensive coaches in college football.
Houston defensive line coach Brian Early is leaving to join Missouri's defensive staff, multiple reports share.
Adam Rittenberg adds that Early will have the defensive ends / edges.
New Houston head coach Willie Fritz had retained Early as part of his inaugural staff, but Early nows appears to be on the move to the SEC.
Early just wrapped up his sixth season with the Cougars and previously spent five seasons coaching the defensive line at Arkansas State.
At Houston, part of Early's responsibilities were to recruit the top junior college players, and that was an area the program had success bringing in and developing guys like Tank Dell (a 3rd Round pick of the Texans), and defensive backs Gervarrius Owens and Damarion Williams going in the 7th, and 4th rounds, respectively.
With previous stops at Central Arkansas (FCS), Arkansas Monticello (D-II), and a number of Arkansas high schools, Early also has a season of previous SEC experience as a member of the support staff at Arkansas. He was a defensive quality control coach for the Razorbacks in 2013.
At Mizzou, he joins the defensive staff of new defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, who was recently hired from South Alabama to replace Blake Baker, who left for LSU.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.