Another Memphis football assistant is headed to Columbia, the University of Missouri announced Friday.
Cornerbacks coach Ryan Walters will become the new safeties coach under defensive coordinator Barry Odom, who helped lead Memphis to its first-ever 10-win season in 2014. Odom took over last month after Dave Steckel took the head coaching job at Missouri State in December.
Walters, 29, played as a safety against Mizzou in college at the University of Colorado, where he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors as a senior in 2008. He started as a graduate assistant at Colorado before serving in the same role at Arizona and Oklahoma before going to North Texas as a cornerbacks coach in 2013.
Odom coached the Mizzou safeties from 2009-11 and actually met Walters on a coaching trip to Arizona in 2010. The two reunited last fall to work with a Memphis defense that ranked 11th nationally with 19.5 points allowed per game and led the American Athletic Conference in pass defense efficiency.
Missouri returns junior free safety Ian Simon but will need to find a replacement for senior strong safety Braylon Webb, the team leader with four interceptions. He also led all defensive backs with 70 tackles and recovered two fumbles.
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