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Report: Auburn hires West Virginia's Al Pogue as defensive assistant

Pogue is returning to Auburn after spending three seasons as an off-the-field administrator for Malzahn from 2011 to 2014

<p>Al Pogue served as the outside linebackers coach at West Virginia after leaving his position at Troy, where he coached from 2014-2018, last January. (West Virginia Athletics)</p>

Al Pogue served as the outside linebackers coach at West Virginia after leaving his position at Troy, where he coached from 2014-2018, last January. (West Virginia Athletics)

Gus Malzahn has found Marcus Woodson's replacement on the defensive staff.

Auburn has hired West Virginia's assistant and outside linebackers coach Al Pogue to fill the void Woodson left on the defense when he followed Mike Norvell to Florida State, Malzahn announced Friday. 

Pogue is returning to Auburn after spending three seasons as an off-the-field administrator for Malzahn from 2011 to 2014. Pogue, who, like Woodson, is known for his recruiting prowess in the South because of his hometown ties, was in charge of high school relations, as well as offensive and special teams quality control in his time at Auburn.

“I’m so excited to be returning to Auburn. It’s a homecoming of sorts for me,” Pogue said. “Auburn is the school that gave me my first collegiate job in this great profession and I can’t thank Coach Malzahn enough for this opportunity. I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work, doing whatever I can to help this program continue to achieve greatness.”

While Pogue was with the Tigers, Auburn played in the 2013 BCS National Championship game, won the 2013 SEC Championship and won the 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl.

Pogue then went on to spend four seasons coaching cornerbacks at Troy, from 2014 to 2018, under head coach Neal Brown, whom he followed to West Virginia last January. 

From 2016-18, under Pogue's guidance, Troy’s defense allowed 20.8 points per game, ranking No. 4 nationally among non-power 5 schools. And from 2015-18, the Trojans were No. 2 nationally among FBS schools in takeaways (106) and tied for No. 7 nationally with 63 interceptions. One of Pogue’s defensive backs, Blace Brown registered 12 interceptions over the last three years, tying for No. 3 nationally for active career interceptions. 

“We’re very excited to bring Al back to Auburn," Malzahn said. "He has been a very successful coach on and off the field during his career. He has spent a lot of time coaching in the state of Alabama and has great ties and is well respected. Al is a great fit with our staff and will bring tremendous value as a coach and a recruiter."

Pogue's specific positional title on Auburn's staff, other than defensive assistant, is not known yet. 


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