Bo Pelini is back at LSU to coach the Tigers defense. It only makes sense he’ll have his right-hand man on staff in Baton Rouge.

FootballScoop is reporting that Youngstown State defensive coordinator Donald D’Alesio will join the LSU staff as a defensive analyst. D’Alesio played at Youngstown State from 2010-14 and then joined the program’s coaching staff in 2016.

D’Alesio also coached the team’s defensive line while holding the coordinator title. Per his Youngstown State bio,  D’Alesio had two standout defensive ends in NFL Draft picks Derek Rivers and Avery Moss in 2016. Rivers was drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft by the New England Patriots with the No. 83 overall pick while Moss was selected in the fifth round by the New York Giants as pick No. 167. Both players were first-team All-MVFC selections.

This past season, D’Alesio-coached Youngstown State defensive end Justus Reed earned first-team All-MVFC honors while Ma’lik Richmond was a second-team selection. Reed was returning from an injury that forced him to miss the 2018  season. He bounced back to have the best year of his career, finishing with 42 total stops with an impressive 19 TFLs and 13 sacks. He was the first YSU defensive player to earn first-team all-league honors since Rivers in 2016.