re: Southern Miss HC candidates

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• Gran spent 15 seasons as a running backs coach and special teams coordinator in the SEC, including 10 years at Auburn, followed by a stop at Tennessee before coming to Florida State in 2010.

Gran has a strong record for developing backfield talent. During his 14 seasons as the assistant to Tommy Tuberville at Ole Miss and Auburn, he sent eight running backs to the NFL, including former Tigers Carnell Williams, Ronnie Brown, Rudi Johnson, Brandon Jacobs, Heath Evans and Kenny Irons. They were preceded by former Rebels Deuce McCallister and John Avery.

• Tennessee's Mario Hardesty (1,345 yards) added his name to the lengthy list of 1,000-yard rushers Gran has worked with over the course of his career in `09. Hardesty, who did not fumble on 282 carries from scrimmage in 2009, was a second-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2010. He was selected one slot after Auburn's Ben Tate (Houston Texans), whom Gran coached in 2008.

• Gran's tenure as a special teams coach included oversight of Auburn kicker John Vaughn, who was the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2006. With his hands-on approach in all facets of special teams play, Gran is widely regarded as one of the most meticulous in tutoring the game's critical "third phase."

• Beyond the playing field, Gran has established himself as one of the nation's top recruiters. He has spent the better part of two decades recruiting Miami and greater South Florida as his primary territory, where he first crossed paths with Jimbo Fisher. The fertile ground has remained his primary recruiting area with the Seminoles and he helped the Seminoles attract the nation's No. 1 recruiting class in 2011. He and fellow assistant coach Lawrence Dawsey were named two of ESPN.com's Top 25 Recruiters of the Year in 2011.

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