(LEX 18) — Kentucky football has added a new assistant coach to its staff. Chris Collins is heading to Lexington, and he joins the UK program after spending the past four seasons with Georgia State. Collins will serve as Kentucky's defensive backs coach.
Collins was named the safeties coach for the Panthers in 2017, and he added the title "recruiting coordinator" in 2019. From there, he helped sign Georgia State's 2020 recruiting class, which had the highest average player ranking in program history, according to 24/7 Sports.
He previously spent two seasons (2013-14) as secondary coach and special teams coordinator at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., while also serving as the academic coordinator for the NCAA Division II program. Collins began his coaching career at Western Carolina, his alma mater, by serving as a student assistant in 2010 and then a defensive assistant in 2011-12.
The High Point, N.C., native was an All-Southern Conference defender for the Catamounts who finished with more than 300 career tackles. He was also a three-time selection to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll before earning his B.S. in construction management with a minor in business administration from Western Carolina in 2010.
In 2015, Collins participated in the NFL-NCAA Coaches Academy, and in 2018, Collins was chosen for the American Football Coaches Association 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute.
Collins replaces Kentucky's former defensive backs coach, Steve Clinkscale, who left the UK football program for a job with Michigan in May, 2021.
