SHSU Brings In Collins As New Defensive Coordinator
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Information
Mike Collins, formerly assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at McNeese State, is joining the Sam Houston State football staff, Bearkat director of athletics Bobby Williams and head coach Willie Fritz have announced.
Collins served two stints with McNeese State.
As an assistant to Bobby Keasler from 1991 to 1997, he coached linebackers as McNeese won four Southland Conference titles and played in the NCAA Division I national championship game in 1997.
“Mike Collins will be a super fit for us here at Sam Houston,” Fritz said. “I’ve known Mike a long time. He runs a similar defensive structure to what we have been doing here. We’re fortunate to get Mike at Sam Houston.”
Rejoining the Cowboy staff in 2008, he served as defensive coordinator and secondary coach.
The 2009 Cowboys were Southland co-champions and league runner-up in 2010.
While at McNeese, Collins coached six All-America selections as well as the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year three times.
“This is a great opportunity. I’m excited to be a Bearkat,” Collins said. “What interested me most about the position was the outstanding job Coach Fritz has done here at Sam Houston. I appreciate the way the team has played with such discipline. I’ve also seen the support the university administration has given the program. Sam Houston obviously is committed to success in athletics. I am thankful for the opportunity they have given me.”
Collins got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Louisiana-Monroe in 1983-84.
From there, he served as an assistant coach at Ouachita Parish High School before joining the staff at McNeese State in 1991.
He left McNeese after the 1997 season to work at his alma mater, Louisiana-Monroe, where he coached for five years.
Collins first served as linebacker coach in 1998 and then as the defensive coordinator for three years.
He took over as interim head coach at Louisiana-Monroe three games into the 2002 season before being named the teams’ permanent head coach on Nov. 20 of that year.
In 2003, Collins spent a season as an intern on the national championship staff of Nick Saban at LSU.
He then joined the Tiger staff full-time in March of 2004 as LSU’s linebackers coach.
In 2005 he moved to Northwestern State as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
In 2007 he served as linebacker coach at Kilgore High School before returning for his second stint in Lake Charles with the Cowboys in 2008.
Collins is a 1983 graduate of Louisiana-Monroe, where he lettered for four years as a center in football.
He earned his master’s degree from Louisiana-Monroe in 1984.
He is married to the former Terri Brinson and the couple has two children, John Michael and Matt.
His father, Pat Collins, coached Louisiana-Monroe to a national title.
Bearkats Move Up To No.5 In National Rankings
by Cheval John
After destroying McNeese State Cowboys 45-10 last Saturday night, the Sam Houston State Bearkats have moved up to No.5 in both the Coaches Polls and the Sports Network FCS
polls.
The Bearkats have been in the FCS Top 25 National Rankings for a record 20 consecutive weeks and have an overall record of 5-2.
The win against the Cowboys extends their winning streak to four games and are aiming for their fifth straight win when they face Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas this Saturday on the Southland Conference Television Network.
They will be playing without linebacker Darius Taylor, who was suspended for one game by Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett for a “hit on a defensless player” on October 13 against Nicholls State.
“It is an unfortunate decision forcing Darius to miss a game,” SHSU director of athletics Bobby Williams said to gobearkats.com.
“We disagree with the ruling that this was a targeted hit. We asked the league to take a second look at the play in comparison to other similar hits that went unpunished this season and were denied on the appeal.”
Taylor accumulated 45 tackles and five sacks during this season.
Kickoff is at 3:05 p.m.
New Network To Televise SHSU’s Homecoming Game
The spotlight on the Sam Houston State Bearkat football team has gotten brighter.
With three television appearances under their belt, it seems as if things cannot get any better.
Well, it just did.
The homecoming game between the Bearkats and McNeese State Cowboys will be televised on Comcast Sports Net Houston on October 20.
The new network is a partnership with the Houston Astros, the Houston Rockets and the NBC Sports Group and is based in the Houston Pavilions.
It is set to launch on October 1 and will have a six state regional coverage area.
“This is a great opportunity for us to add another televised game to our already impressive slate this season,” athletic director Bobby Williams said to SHSU athletics department media.
“We are also very excited to be working with Comcast SportsNet Houston to get this game televised.”
“We met with them last month and they were very excited about getting involved with Sam Houston sports, so we think this will be a very good fit for us.”
The Bearkats are currently No.9 in the Sports Network FCS polls after a 24-20 heartbreaking loss to University of Central Arkansas Bears.
They will be facing a McNeese State team, who are ranked No.21 in the polls and have an all-time series lead at 24-8-1 and have won 151 Southland Conference games, 13 SLC titles and 14 NCAA FCS playoff appearances.
However, the Bearkats defeated the Cowboys 38-14 in Cowboy Stadium, en route to the national championship game in Frisco.
The game will now be at 7 p.m. instead of 2 p.m.
For more information on Comcast SportsNet Houston, visit iwantCSNHouston.com