NFL veteran David Overstreet II joins UCF, bringing Cowboys experience to develop the secondary and boost the Knights' pass defense.
After a carousel of hires at the cornerback coach position, the Knights have hired David Overstreet II to teach up the secondary.
Overstreet spent last season as the defensive backs coach for the Dallas Cowboys, helping his team record six interceptions. Prior to that, Overstreet spent four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts as a defensive quality control coach before taking over as an assistant defensive backs coach.
Head coach Scott Frost talked about what it means to add a coach with professional experience in a statement Wednesday morning.
"Any time you can bring in someone with David's level of NFL experience, it’s a win for your program," Frost said. "He's spent a ton of time in the pros and helped develop some young, talented guys. He knows what it takes to succeed at the highest of levels, and I think our guys will learn a lot from him."
Overstreet also brings playing experience and prior knowledge of current UCF defensive coordinator Alex Grinch from his time with the Missouri Tigers in the early 2000s. In the 2006 season, Overstreet was named to the All-Big 12 second-team with the Tigers, racking up 89 tackles, five pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
At Missouri, he spent time alongside Grinch, who was a graduate assistant during the time.
Overstreet steps into a role once held by Brandon Harris, who joined the Florida Gators in December. Will Johnson followed as the next hire, but was poached by the Minnesota Vikings despite agreeing to the UCF job in mid-December.
He commands a crucial part of a defensive unit that ranked top-25 in pass defense nationally last season, returning talented defensive backs like Braeden Marshall, Demari Henderson and Jayden Bellamy.
Overstreet's brief familiarity with Grinch should also prove fruitful, as Spring Football is right around the corner and the team will be looking to hit the ground running.
His mindset as a coach is one of a former player, as he emphasized after getting the Cowboys job last season.
"I always tell the DBs, 'Hey, if the quarterback threw it, that means who didn't want it anymore. And if he threw it your way, that means he thinks his guy is better than you are and you should take offense to that," Overstreet said last February. "You should be extremely upset that the QB decided to say, 'The guy lined up across from you is better so I'm gonna throw it [in that direction].'"
Overstreet fills in the final coaching vacancy for Frost and the Knights as the team looks to improve on a 5-7 finish last season.
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