Florida hires Mississippi State’s Geoff Collins as DC

Author: Associated Press
Published:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – New Florida coach Jim McElwain has made his first official hire.

McElwain named Mississippi State’s Geoff Collins his defensive coordinator Tuesday. Collins replaces D.J. Durkin, who will serve as Florida’s interim head coach for the Birmingham Bowl.

McElwain says “it was important to maintain some of the same philosophies and concepts that have made the defenses around here successful with this hire, and our players will continue to progress under his direction.”

Collins turned Mississippi State into one of the nation’s top defenses. The Bulldogs rank 10th in scoring defense, allowing 19.4 points a game.

Prior to his stint at Mississippi State, Collins was defensive coordinator at Florida International (2010) and served as Central Florida’s linebackers coach (2008-09). In 2007, Collins was Nick Saban’s director of player personnel at Alabama.

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