Dec. 20, 2006
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF Head Coach George O'Leary announced the addition of Earnest Collins to the Golden Knight football coaching staff on Wednesday. Collins spent the last four seasons at the University of Kansas where he coached the Jayhawk cornerbacks and served as the special teams coordinator for the 2006 season.
Collins, who will coach the entire secondary at UCF, is the second assistant with Big XII ties hired by O'Leary this offseason. Former Iowa State defensive coordinator John Skladany was named to the same role at UCF on Dec. 4.
"We are very happy to include a coach of Earnest's quality in all phases of the game to our staff," O'Leary said. "He brings with him a lot of experience that is going to help our entire team."
Collins tutored one of the top cornerbacks in the nation the last two seasons as sophomore Aqib Talib picked up numerous post-season honors for Kansas, including second-team All-America honors by Si.com this season. Talib, a first-team All-Big XII performer, led the league with six interceptions in 2006.
"I'm very excited to be joining Coach O'Leary's staff at UCF," Collins said. "It is a great situation and the program is up-and-coming. We have a chance to be the elite in Conference USA and I'm excited about the opportunity to make the defense and the team as a whole even better."
Prior to his stint at Kansas, Collins served as secondary and special teams coordinator for his alma mater, the University of Northern Colorado, from 2000-2002. As a player for the Bears from 1991-94, Collins was an All-North Central Conference performer. He holds the school record for both career (967) and single-season punt return yardage (497). After his playing career, Collins spent one year as a student assistant on the UNC staff.
Following his initial time at UNC, Collins had a four-year coaching stint at Northwest Missouri State University. While with the Bearcats, he helped the school to back-to-back NCAA II national championships in 1998 and 1999. He also earned his master's degree from the school in 1998.