Kentucky tabs Georgia State recruiting ace Chris Collins as new defensive backs coach
Kentucky went south for its latest football hire.
Chris Collins, who for the last four years has coached safeties at Georgia State, has been named UK’s defensive backs coach. The school announced the hire Thursday.
Collins succeeds Steve Clinkscale, formerly UK’s defensive passing game coordinator, who left last month for a similar position at Michigan.
“Going through the hiring process for this job I talked to several candidates but each time I talked to Chris I came away more and more impressed with him,” UK Coach Mark Stoops said in a news release. “He brings great energy and enthusiasm to the staff on the field and as a recruiter. We are very excited to have him on board.”
Collins, 32, is a North Carolina native who played safety and outside linebacker for Western Carolina, an FCS program. His first Division I job was as a linebackers coach for his alma mater in 2016 before moving onto Georgia State in 2017.
Collins since 2019 has served as the recruiting coordinator for Georgia State, a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Panthers’ 2020 signing class was the best, by average player ranking, in school history, per 247Sports’ ratings.
“Coach Stoops’ knowledge is second to none when it comes to defensive backs,” Collins said in the release. “I’m excited to learn and work with him, Coach (Brad) White and the rest of the staff to continue to elevate this defense.”
The Panthers have reached bowl games in three of the last four seasons, including a 39-21 victory over Western Kentucky in last season’s Lending Tree Bowl. Brian Landis, a former UK quality-control assistant who was the first head coach at Frederick Douglass High School, is a linebackers coach at Georgia State.
