With spring ball less than a week away, Nebraska officially confirmed the hire of its new defensive line coach Tony Tuioti on Tuesday morning.

“I want to thank Coach Frost for the opportunity to be a part of the Nebraska football family,” Tuioti said in a statement. “I believe in what he is doing and the culture he is building at Nebraska and I am excited to be a part of it.”

The 42-year-old Tuioti was the D-line coach at Cal last year after coaching the outside backers there in 2017. He spent the past two seasons helping coach a top-25 defense in the Pac-12. He also brings the experience of having sat in the leading chair for Michigan's recruiting department in the 2016, spent two seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns, and the four years before that as a position coach for his alma mater Hawai'i.

Frost said he happy to have Tuioti join the Husker family.

“Tony has been a key part of one of the top defenses in the country the past two seasons at Cal. He will bring great energy to our staff, has a strong history of player development, and an impressive recruiting background," the head coach added.

In addition, Frost also announced the hire of Ryan Feder as a defensive graduate assistant. Feder most recently worked with the Green Bay Packers as a Football Technology Analyst.

In the case of Tuioti, he signed a two-year deal making $375,000 a year. He was previously making $276,500 at Cal. Nebraska was set to pay Dawson $475,000 the next two years.

The former defensive lineman for Hawai'i got into coaching in 2000, earning two separate masters' degrees along the way as he built up his coaching resume.

His most recent work as a football coach, though, is what made him so appealing for Scott Frost to tab him as the choice to replace Mike Dawson. Frost picked a coach from a school that has been building a top-tier defense the last couple years.

Working under the highly regarded defensive mind Justin Wilcox at Cal, the Golden Bears' defense was top 10 nationally in interceptions, defensive touchdowns, turnovers gained and passing yards allowed. They were a top 20 in pass efficiency defense, first downs allowed, total defense, and 22nd in scoring defense. Tuioti was credited for the development of several outside linebackers (in 2017) and defensive linemen in (2018) who helped the Bears achieve those numbers, including turning a converted O-lineman in Chris Palmer into a nose tackle who was deemed the team's most improved player in the trenches.

Furthermore, Cal also ran a 3-4 scheme as Nebraska runs when in base.

At Nebraska, Tuitoi will have an interest mix of veterans and newcomers to work with, with upperclassmen like Carlos Davis and Khalil Davis, and Darrion Daniels, and Ben Stille, as well as younger prospects like sophomore Deontre Thomas and redshirt freshmen Tate Wildeman and Casey Rogers, and a haul of incoming true freshmen like Tate Wildeman, Brant Banks, Ethan Piper, and potential D-linemen options in Garrett Nelson and Mosai Newsom. Nelson and Banks are already on campus for spring ball.

Frost moved relatively fast on the hire, replacing Dawson in less than two weeks. Efficiency was necessary, with spring ball starting this Monday.