Rushing, 36, wasn't in Tallahassee long -- in fact, he was there less than a month. He joined the FSU staff when Mike Norvell took the top job, following Norvell from Memphis. Rushing's rise through the coaching ranks has been rapid, after three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, one with the Detroit Lions and one with the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders.

He spent four of his first five years in coaching at Arizona State, where he was a graduate assistant, then quality control coach, then spent two years as the defensive backs coach from 2016 to 2017 with a year at Northern Arizona (2015) in between. The Stanford graduate then moved to Memphis in 2018 and spent two seasons there with Norvell.

In spite of playing in the pass-happy AAC, the Tigers secondary was outstanding in 2019. They were 20th in the nation in passing yards allowed and 16th in pass efficiency defense. Memphis went 11-2 in 2019 and lost to Penn State in the Cotton Bowl after winning the AAC.

Rushing takes over a cornerbacks group which should have plenty of competition starting this spring. Incumbents Myles Jones and Elijah Blades will have freshmen Josh Moten and Jaylon Jones on campus looking for spots on the depth chart starting this spring, with highly touted JUCO Brian George arriving over the summer.