Carl Torbush

Last College: Carson Newman, 1974 Position: Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

Carl Torbush

Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers

(Carson Newman, 1974)

SecondYear at KU

A veteran coach with experience as both a head coach and a defensive coordinator, Carl Torbush enters hissecond year at Kansas, where he is the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Torbush was a head coach at Louisiana Tech (1987) and North Carolina (1998-2000) and has been a defensive coordinator at Mississippi, North Carolina, Alabama, Texas A&M and Mississippi State.

He has put together defenses which have topped the league in both the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference during his career. Torbush has been a part of 11 bowl team coaching staffs. He served as head coach at North Carolina for the 1997 Gator Bowl after Mack Brown left for Texas after the regular season and then guided the Tar Heels to the 1998 Las Vegas Bowl the following season.

Torbush has worked for Grant Teaff, Billy Brewer, Mack Brown, Dennis Franchione and Ken Sparks. He started his coaching career at Carter High School in Knoxville, Tenn. in 1974 before joining the staff at Baylor as a graduate assistant in 1975.

His first full-time collegiate job was as linebackers/defensive ends coach at Southeastern Louisiana from 1976-79. After three years at Louisiana Tech (1980-82), he was named the defensive coordinator at Mississippi (1983-86). In his final year, the Rebels led the SEC in total defense.

Torbush spent one season as the head coach at Louisiana Tech posting a 3-8 record before joining Brown at North Carolina in 1988. He served as the team's defensive coordinator/linebackers coach for 10 years until Brown left for Texas and Torbush became the head coach for the next three seasons.

While an assistant at North Carolina, UNC led the ACC in defense in 1995, 96 and 97. He was named National Defensive Coordinator of the Year in 1996. In 1997 he was a finalist for the Frank Broyles Assistant Coach of the Year award.

Torbush then joined Franchione's staff at Alabama in 2001 and his defense was third in the NCAA allowing just 257 yards per game in 2002. He was selected as the SEC Assistant Coach of the Year following that season. He then followed Franchione to Texas A&M and was the defensive coordinator for three seasons.

Torbush returned to his alma mater of Carson-Newman as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach. The Eagles were 25-8 in his three years, including a 10-1 mark in 2007. He spent the 2008 season at Mississippi State as the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach.

As a student-athlete at Carson-Newman, Torbush lettered in both football and baseball and earned NAIA All-America First-Team honors in both sports. He was inducted into both the Carson-Newman and the Knoxville, Tenn. Sports Halls of Fame.

He spent one year in the minor league system of the Kansas City Royals before beginning his football coaching career.

Torbush was born in East Spencer, N.C., but raised in Knoxville, Tenn. He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Carson-Newman in 1974 and a master's degree in physical education and health from Baylor in 1976. He and his wife Janet have one son, Trey.