De’Vante Cross is in his first season as Utah State’s cornerbacks coach.
Cross came to Utah State after spending the 2025 season as the defensive backs coach at Utah Tech. Prior to that Cross served as a defensive graduate assistant at New Mexico under Mendenhall in 2024. Cross began his coaching career as a quality control analyst at Vanderbilt University during the 2023 campaign.
Cross played for Mendenhall for five years at Virginia, where he moved from quarterback to receiver to safety, before finally finding a home on defense. When needed, he played both sides of the ball in a single game. He closed out his collegiate career earning a spot on the 2021 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society.
In his three years at cornerback and safety, Cross played in 32 games with 114 tackles, including 2.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss, to go along with six interceptions and 15 pass breakups. He also rushed for 27 yards and caught a pair of passes on offense in his Virginia career. He led the ACC in interception return yards in 2019.
After graduation, he signed a free agent contract with the Washington Commanders, and then with the Green Bay Packers.
A strong proponent of education, Coach Cross earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Virginia in 2019, a master’s in higher education administration from Virginia in 2021, and a second master’s in physical education from New Mexico in 2024.
DE'VANTE CROSS FILE
Coaching History
2026- Utah State – Cornerbacks
2025 Utah Tech – Defensive Backs
2024 New Mexico – Defensive Graduate Assistant
2023 Vanderbilt – Quality Control Analyst
Playing Experience
2016-21 Virginia
Education
2024 New Mexico – Physical Education (Master’s)
2021 Virginia – Higher Education Administration (Master’s)
2019 Virginia – History (Bachelor’s)
