Nunnely to Coach Running Backs for the Trojans

Wayne Nunnely, a former head football coach at Nevada Las Vegas, has been hired to coach running backs at USC, it was announced Thursday. He will replace Clarence Shelmon, who took a similar position with the Rams.

A three-sport athlete at Monrovia High and former assistant at Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Fullerton, Nunnely helped develop several All-Big West Conference running backs in eight seasons at UNLV, among them Ickey Woods, who led the nation in rushing in 1987.

Only the fifth black head coach at the Division I level when he was hired in 1986, Nunnely, 38, resigned under pressure at UNLV in 1989 after compiling a 19-25 record in four seasons. He spent the past year as director of minority student affairs at UNLV.

“I’ve wanted to be a Trojan since I could say Trojan,” the former UNLV fullback said of his return to coaching. “I’ve always been a USC fan. To be a part of the SC tradition--I’m honored.”