Missour Tigers defensive coordinator Dave Steckel is one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, an honor given to the top assistant coach in college football.

Steckel has been at Missouri for 14 years as a linebackers coach and is currently in the middle of his sixth season as defensive coordinator.

Missouri’s defense has been outstanding this season, especially in SEC play. The Tigers have allowed just 300.8 yards per game against SEC opponents, which is tops in the conference. Their 19.1 points allowed per game is also second in the SEC.

Missouri finished the regular season on a six-game conference winning streak and large part of that success falls on the defense, giving up more than 20 points in a game only twice.

Steckel’s defense has also benefited greatly from two disruptive defensive ends in Markus Golden and Shane Ray, a duo that leads the SEC with 22.0 combined sacks and 33.5 combined tackles for loss.

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Steckel is one of two SEC assistants that made the cut as a finalist. Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin also was named a finalist.