"We are thrilled to welcome Deland to the Trojan Family and fortunate to have him on our staff," said head coach Clay Helton. "He had great success recruiting and then developing prolific running backs at Indiana who were NFL ready. The Indiana run game during his time was effective, efficient and productive. He understands the running game and was himself a very skilled runner as a college and pro player. He relates well to his players and has a unique background dating to his days working in education as a principal."
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At Indiana, he tutored three future NFL running backs in Stephen Houston, Tevin Coleman (who scored a touchdown in Super Bowl LI) and Jordan Howard, while Devin Redding is likely to get drafted this year. Coleman (2015) and Howard (2016) became the first Indiana running backs to be drafted in consecutive years since 1990-92. In 2015, All-Big Ten first team honoree Howard (1,213) and Redding (1,012) each eclipsed 1,000 yards, a first in program history, and Redding did so again in 2016 (1,122) to become the first Hoosier to accomplish that since 1990-91. In 2014, Coleman was a unanimous All-American, All-Big Ten first teamer and Doak Walker Award finalist when he finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting and ran for a school record 2,036 yards.
