Bulldogs select Collins as new defensive coordinator

Citadel football coach Kevin Higgins has named Mark Collins as the Bulldogs' new defensive coordinator, Higgins said Thursday.

Collins comes to The Citadel from Louisiana-Monroe. He also has worked at Georgia, Michigan, Georgia Southern and Elon, where he was defensive coordinator. At The Citadel, he replaces Isaac Collins (no relation), who was hired as head coach at Division III Widener.

"We're excited to have a coach of Mark's experience," Higgins said. "He's coached at two programs in our league, so he's very familiar with the Southern Conference. He's coordinated at our level as well, he's an outstanding recruiter, very knowledgeable, and will make a tremendous impact on our program."

Collins, a native of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., played defensive end and linebacker at East Tennessee State, graduating in 1998. He coached at ETSU from 1998-2002, and then at Michigan for two seasons. He worked with linebackers and offensive linemen at Michigan, and helped the Wolverines to two Big Ten titles and two Rose Bowl trips.

At Elon in 2005, Collins was in charge of a defense that finished third in the SoCon in total defense, allowing 339.8 yards per game for a team that went 3-8 and scored just 15.7 points per game.

That Phoenix team was Paul Hamilton's final one at Elon, and Collins moved on to Georgia Southern, where he coached linebackers under Brian VanGorder.

After VanGorder's one season in Statesboro, Collins went to Georgia as a grad assistant before moving to Louisiana-Monroe in March 2009.

Reach Jeff Hartsell at jhartsell@postandcourier.com.