Mississippi State has finally filled the last hole in its coaching staff.

Head coach Dan Mullen announced on Thursday that the Bulldogs have hired Maurice Linguist as their safeties coach. Linguist spent the last two seasons as the defensive passing game coordinator at Iowa State.

The 31-year-old has proven himself capable of coaching up young defensive backs. Last season, Linguist mentored freshman CB Brian Peavy, who was a finalist for Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. He led all Big 12 freshmen with 12 passes defended and led the entire Cyclones defense with 82 tackles.

While Peavy was a finalist for Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year, he helped another player claim the honor the previous season in FS Kamari Cotton-Moya. Meanwhile, sophomore CB Nigel Tribune was a second-team All-Big 12 selection by the Associated Press.

Linguist was a standout at Baylor, earning an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in 2006 while being named the Bears’ defensive most valuable player. He began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant the next season.