Clay Jennings - Texas State Univ. - Fundamental DB Play

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Clay Jennings – Texas State

Lecture Title: Fundamental DB Play

Clay Jennings enters his first season with Texas State, joining the Bobcats as the defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator in February 2022.

A proven secondary coach for his entire career, Jennings joined Texas State after spending 18 of his first 26 years in coaching within the state of Texas, including five of the past six seasons. Prior to Texas State, Jennings was the secondary coach for UNLV in 2021.

A native of Waco, Texas, Jennings moved to San Marcos after spending the 2021 campaign at UNLV. The Runnin’ Rebels had two players finish in the top-40 in interceptions in his lone year with the program.

Before spending the 2019 and 2020 seasons at North Texas, Jennings spent single seasons at Texas Tech (2018), Houston (2017), and Texas (2016). With the Cougars, Jennings was the co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach while in Lubbock and Austin, he was the defensive backs coach.

Jennings has tutored numerous NFL draft picks and free-agent selections during his career, including Tevin Mitchel (Arkansas), Alan Turner (Arkansas), Jason Verrett (TCU), Kevin White (TCU), Greg McCoy (TCU), Malcolm Williams (TCU), Rafael Priest (TCU), C.C. Brown (Louisiana), Michael Adams (Louisiana), Antwain Spann (Louisiana), Keith Davis (Sam Houston) and Jordan Babineaux (Southern Arkansas).

Jennings was the secondary coach and recruiting coordinator at Sam Houston from 2001 to 2002 where he mentored an All-America selection and Buck Buchanan Award finalist in Davis.

Before Sam Houston, Jennings coached the secondary at Southern Arkansas (2000), Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa (1999), and Morehouse College in Atlanta (1998). He began his coaching career as a student assistant (1996) and then graduate assistant (1997) at North Texas shortly after ending his playing career for the Mean Green.

Jennings was a four-year letterwinner during his playing career at North Texas (1992-95) where he was part of the Mean Green’s Southland Conference championship team in 1994. Jennings finished his career at North Texas with 63 total tackles and 10.5 sacks.

Jennings earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from North Texas in 1997. He and his wife, Belinda, have two kids, Kirby and Kenzie.