In his second season as a defensive assistant coach for the Sycamores is Jeff Burrow.
Burrow helped the Sycamores enjoy a breakthrough season in 2010 as the team enjoyed a 6-5 record, a third place finish in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the program's first winning campaign since 1996.
Individually, the Sycamores had five student-athletes on the defensive side of the ball honored by the MVFC following the 2010 season on its all-conference honors list. First team selections were DE Ben Obaseki and DB Alex Sewall. On the second team was LB Jacolby Washington. Earning honorable mention status were LB Aaron Archie and DB Calvin Burnett.
ISU also had an outstanding defense, tallying a season-best four interceptions and making a pair of fourth quarter red zone stops at Youngstown State to help secure a road league victory. The Sycamores gave up just 184.6 yards per game through the air, which was third in the league and 38th nationally.
Burrow came to Indiana State from Marshall where he was an assistant secondary coach in 2009.
Burrow, a native of Sylvester, Ga., comes to Marshall after serving as wide receivers coach at Jacksonville State for the last two seasons. During his tenure with the Gamecocks, Burrow tutored all-conference standouts Taurean Rhetta and Maurice Dupree.
Burrow joined the Jacksonville State staff after spending two years as a defensive graduate assistant at Notre Dame in 2005-06 under head coach Charlie Weiss. Prior to that, he served as a defensive graduate assistant at Minnesota under head coach Glenn Mason in 2003 and 2004. He coached defensive backs and served as the team's strength and conditioning coach at Greenville (Ill.) College in 2002.
As a player, Burrow was a two-year starter and a four-year letterman at cornerback for the University of Cincinnati from 1995-99 where he played for then head coach, and current Marshall Defensive Coordinator Rick Minter. During this period, Burrow was also coached by current Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin who served as defensive backs coach at Cincinnati from 1999 to 2000.
"This is an excellent opportunity to join a great coaching staff and work at a great University and I am thankful for it," Burrow said. "I have a long pedigree of being coached and working for some great defensive coaches, such as Rick Minter and Mike Tomlin. I am a defensive person and I can't wait to get back on that side of the ball."
Following his collegiate career, Burrow signed as a free agent with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League and played one season with the team (2000).
Burrow earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Cincinnati in 1999 and a master's degree in education from the University of Minnesota in 2004. He is married to the former Janea Coleman.
