Former Nebraska football defensive lineman Elijah Jeudy’s playing days look to be done, but his coaching days have just begun. Granted, starting his coaching career with the Highland Community College Scotties means that he’s got quite the uphill battle to get off to a successful start.
On Wednesday, the former Husker announced he’d accepted the job as defensive line coach at Highland. “More blessings and new beginnings. The new D-line coach for Highland Community College,” he wrote with a picture of himself wearing gear from his new program as part of an official announcement.
The former Nebraska defender joins new Highland head coach Cameron McGarry’s staff. McGarry has ties to the school, having previously served as a recruiting coordinator and offensive coach. Under his tutelage, the offense had many of the best players in the NJCAA. However, he departed the program for Lyons College in 2025, and any progress that had been made under a regularly moribund banner was lost.
Highland Community College was arguably the worst team in NJCAA Division One last year, failing to win a game in 11 contests. The school needed a housecleaning when it came to the staff, as neither the offense nor the defense was very competitive.
More blessings and new beginnings. The New Dline coach for highland community college 💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/9MnWWVk2Og
— Elijah Jeudy1️⃣6️⃣ (@ElijahJeudy) July 22, 2026
Elijah Jeudy named Highland Community College defensive line coach
Highland’s defense allowed 35 or more points in 9 of 11 games, allowed more than 50 points three times and more than 60 twice. In a fun twist, both contests where they allowed 60 points came against Nebraska neighbor school Iowa Western.
The offense scored less than 10 points more than half the time, as they were held without a touchdown five times in 11 games. McGarry will work to try and turn the offense around, while Jeudy will attempt to apply what he learned at Texas A&M and Nebraska to help improve the very shaky defense.
Jeudy originally didn’t want to start his coaching career so soon. After finishing his career with Nebraska, he did try to catch on in the NFL as an undrafted free agent, but that didn’t work out. Now he’s decided to put the shoulder pads down and pick up the tackling dummies.
Jeudy joined the Nebraska football program in 2023 through the Transfer Portal after starting his career with the Texas A&M Aggies. Upon his arrival, he saw impact playing time immediately, playing in 11 games and finishing with a career-high eight tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and one blocked field goal. He was a big part of a Blackshirt defense that posted Nebraska’s best rushing defense (92.9 yards per game), total defense (303.5 yards per game) and scoring defense (18.3 points per game) since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011.
Jeudy played in all 13 games in 2024 with one start, totaling career highs of 13 tackles. In 2025, he had his most impactful season with the Huskers, playing in every game with 12 starts. He totaled 18 tackles with 1 sack, 1.5 TFL, and one forced fumble.
It’s a safe bet that Jeudy has plenty of teaching he can pick and choose from as the right approach now that he’s a defensive line coach himself. In his three years with Nebraska, he played under two different defensive coordinators and two DL coaches.
Add us as a preferred source on Google