First-year coach Ruffin McNeill on Friday also said running backs coach Clay McGuire would coordinate the Pirates' special teams and shifted tackles coach Marc Yellock to defensive ends coach.

The staff shuffle comes after Mark Nelson resigned as an assistant earlier this week. School officials said he admitted to violating NCAA rules by evaluating players during voluntary summer activities.

The 34-year-old Price was a graduate assistant last season at Texas Tech. He had been retained by new Tech coach Tommy Tuberville and spent the spring coaching the Red Raiders' secondary.

McNeill calls Price "a master technician and motivator with an unmatched work ethic.''

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