Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian completed his search for a new assistant coach to replace safeties coach Blake Gideon, who became the defensive coordinator for the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets last week. The search concluded on Wednesday evening, with Anwar Richard of Orangebloods reporting that Sarkisian hired the cornerbacks coach for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, for the position.
Other outlets quickly confirmed the news.
For Orphey, this hire represents a return to his roots. He is a graduate of Galena Park North Shore, a Texas high school football powerhouse, before going on to become a three-year starter and two-time All-SWAC cornerback at Texas Southern in Houston.
Orphey began his coaching career at his alma mater, coaching the position he once played, before moving on to South Carolina. There, he served as a defensive graduate assistant and quality control analyst during the transition between the Steve Spurrier and Will Muschamp eras.
In 2017, former Texas co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jeff Choate, now the head coach at Nevada, hired Orphey at Montana State. Orphey spent two seasons coaching the secondary before taking a similar role under Gary Andersen at Utah State.
In 2021, Orphey worked as a senior defensive analyst at Alabama under Nick Saban, where he assisted with the defensive backs and contributed to game planning.
For the past three seasons, Orphey was part of Rutgers’ staff. In his first year there in 2022, the Scarlet Knights saw significant improvement in their pass defense, cutting down yardage by 28 yards per game. Christian Braswell developed into an NFL draft pick, and Max Melton earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors. The following year, Melton was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals after leading the team with three interceptions. Melton’s selection marked Rutgers’ highest draft pick since 2010. Additionally, Robert Longerbeam joined Melton as an honorable mention All-Big 12 pick, becoming one of only two players in the Big Ten with at least 10 pass breakups.
The defense at Rutgers continued to improve, ranking 16th nationally in total defense and 10th in passing defense in 2023—Rutgers’ best marks since joining the Big Ten in 2014.
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