Shaun Nua

Biography

Shaun Nua, a former NFL Super Bowl-winning defensive end who has coaching experience in the Pac-12 and Big Ten, enters his fifth season at USC and third as defensive end coach. In 2025, the Trojans went 9-4 and 7-2 in USC’s sophomore season in the Big Ten. Nua had high production from his defensive ends. DE Kameryn Crawford recorded 41 tackles and led the Trojans with 10.5 TFLs for minus 42 yards and also had a team-leading 55 sacks for minus 34 yards. DE Braylan Shelby tallied 29 tackles, including 7 for loss of 20 yards (third-most on the team) with 4.5 sacks for minus 17 yards (second-most on the team). Including in the signing of the unanimous No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2025, Nua signed the No. 1 overall recruit in the nation, DE Luke Wafle. In 2024, Nua’s unit and the Trojan defense significantly improved. USC held opponents to an average of just 24.1 points per game, improving from 34.4 in 2023. The Trojans finished the 2024 season ranked No. 21 in the nation and No. 2 in the Big Ten Conference in third-down conversion percentage defense (0.335), compared to ranking No. 106 (0.436) in 2023. USC’s defense improved in a variety of other statistical categories including ranking No. 33 in passes intercepted (12) and No. 53 in rushing defense (141.2) in 2024. The Trojan defense ranked No. 58 in turnovers gained by collecting 18 throughout the season and ranked No. 69 in red zone defense (0.830) in 2024. USC finished ranked No. 70 in team passing efficiency defen