Guys on the rise: Assistants who could be head coaches soon

FILE - In this April 15, 2013, photo, Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda watches an NCAA college football practice practice in Madison, Wis. LSU's Les Miles hired Aranda away from Wisconsin, where the 39-year-old oversaw a defense that ranked among the top five nationally in four major categories over the last three years. Aranda's biggest selling point is his ability to relate to his players. He has a knack for making hard-to-digest concepts easy to understand, and then he turns his charges loose to make plays. (M.P. King/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File) FILE - In this April 15, 2013, photo, Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda watches an NCAA college football practice practice in Madison, Wis. LSU's Les Miles hired Aranda away from Wisconsin, where the 39-year-old oversaw a defense that ranked among the top five nationally in four major categories over the last three years. Aranda's biggest selling point is his ability to relate to his players. He has a knack for making hard-to-digest concepts easy to understand, and then he turns his charges loose to make plays. (M.P. King/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File)

By Associated Press August 17, 2016 4 min read

Sixteen assistant coaches in 2015 will be starting their first full seasons as FBS head coaches, with seven of them landing jobs in Power Five conferences.

The highest-profile moves had former Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart going to Georgia, former Michigan DC D.J. Durkin taking over at Maryland and former Ohio State DC Chris Ash getting hired at Rutgers.

Who’ll become head coaches after this season?

Here’s a look, in alphabetical order, at some assistants who appear to have what it takes to run their own programs:

___