Duke football coach David Cutcliffe announced the hiring of assistant coach John Latina as the team's new offensive line coach.
Latina, replaces offensive line coach Matt Luke, who accepted a position at his alma mater Ole Miss.
Duke welcomes a veteran offensive line coach, who has worked on football staffs around the country since 1982. He spent five seasons at Clemson from 1994-98.
“John is one of the premier offensive line coaches in the country, and his track record for developing young linemen speaks for itself," Cutcliffe said in a released statement. "He is obviously a veteran coach who has had a great deal of success, and given his ties with our staff, I am confident he will be an immediate fit into our program.”
Latina, who has coached at Notre Dame, Kansas State and Pittsburgh, spent the past two seasons at Akron. He worked on Cutcliffe's staff at Ole Miss from 1999-2004 as the team's offensive line coach.
“I’ve worked with Coach Cut before, and I know his expectations,” Latina said. “I know how he operates the program, and I know all the staff. In that sense, to me, it’s a very seamless transition hopefully for me and for Coach Cut and the staff. I think that’s always good – even though you have a new guy, there’s still continuity because we’re so familiar with one another.”
Latina, a native of New Castle, Pa., was an offensive lineman for four seasons at Virginia Tech and graduated in 1981 before becoming a graduate assistant on the team.
Edward joined the News & Observer staff in 2004. He is a graduate of American University and Johns Hopkins University. He covers Wake Forest football and women's college basketball for the N&O. Edward is a native of Washington, D.C. He can be reached at 829-4781 or