Source: Assistant Banda takes DC job at Utah State

Miami Hurricanes safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda will not return to UM next season after accepting a position as Utah State’s defensive coordinator, according to a South Florida Sun Sentinel source.

The news was first reported on Sunday by The Athletic. In December, Football Scoop reported that new Aggies coach Blake Anderson was targeting Banda to run his defense.

The opportunity affords Banda the chance to call plays defensively for the first time in his career. While he earned a co-defensive coordinator title under coach Manny Diaz at Miami, Blake Baker was calling plays.

Banda has a longstanding relationship with Diaz. He has been his safeties coach with the Hurricanes through Diaz’s tenure as Miami defensive coordinator from 2016 to 2018 and the past two seasons as head coach. He also was an assistant on Diaz’s defense at Mississippi State in 2015 and was a graduate assistant on Diaz’s Texas defenses early last decade.

During Banda’s tenure at Miami, he coached safeties that went on to the NFL in Rayshawn Jenkins, Jamal Carter, Jaquan Johnson and Sheldrick Redwine. The Hurricanes primarily used a veteran rotation of three safeties in 2020 — Bubba Bolden, Amari Carter and Gurvan Hall. Carter and Hall were recruited out of Palm Beach County by Banda and Bolden as a transfer from USC.

In the past two recruiting cycles, Banda has landed a safety prospect ranked as high as No. 1 nationally at his position — American Heritage’s James Williams in the 2021 class and Avantae Williams of DeLand in 2020.

According to a source, Banda is taking three other assistants with him. Miami senior defensive analyst Mike Zuckerman will be inside linebackers coach, assistant recruiting director and former Hurricanes and NFL cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke will be cornerbacks coach and assistant director of player development Alex Devine will be a senior analyst.

Banda