Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins has added three more of his on-field assistant coaches at Temple to his Tech staff and also created a new position for the strength-and-conditioning program, also filled by a Temple staff member.
Collins hired Jim Panagos to coach the defensive line, Larry Knight to coach defensive ends and outside linebackers and Chris Wiesehan to coach tight ends. At Temple, Panagos coached the defensive line and was assistant head coach (defense) and defensive run-game coordinator, Knight coached outside linebackers and was defensive recruiting coordinator and Wiesehan oversaw the offensive line and was the run-game coordinator. Tech made the announcement Thursday.
It brings the total of announced on-field staff to nine, one short of the full 10-person pool.
Panagos has coached 26 years at the high-school, college and NFL levels. In two seasons at Temple, the Owls produced 75 sacks in 26 games, most in the American Athletic Conference in that span. Panagos was also with Collins at Central Florida in 2008-09, when Collins was linebackers coach and Panagos coached the defensive line.
“He does a great job motivating his defensive line, getting them to play with relentless effort,” Collins said in a statement about Panagos.
Knight, from Augusta, joined Collins’ staff in 2017 as a quality-control assistant for defense and recruiting, then was promoted after the season first to player-personnel director and then outside linebackers coach and defensive recruiting coordinator. Knight had been outside linebackers coach at Georgia State for the 2015-16 seasons. He was credited with securing five commitments to Temple’s 2019 signing class.
Knight also will continue his role as defensive recruiting coordinator, while running backs coach Tashard Choice will be offensive recruiting coordinator.
“Larry did a great job for us the last two years at Temple,” Collins said in a statement about Knight. “He’s from Georgia, has a lot of connections in the Southeast and is a relentless recruiter. He has a positive attitude, he’s great to have around the organization and is a positive role model for student-athletes.”
Wiesehan has coached for 25 years at the college and professional levels, including the past five at Temple. He was one of three assistants whom Collins retained upon his hire at Temple. Under Wiesehan’s supervision, the Temple line opened holes for running back Ryquell Armstead to run for 110 yards per game, third in the American Athletic Conference.
Temple also led the AAC this season with 18 sacks allowed in 13 games, doing so with a line that featured two freshman starters at the tackle spots. Wiesehan has coached tight ends at three different jobs, most recently at UCLA in 2009. He’ll also be the offensive special-teams coordinator.
“Chris will do a masterful job at re-introducing the tight end position that hasn’t existed here for 11 years,” Collins said in a statement about Wiesehan. “He’s a relentless recruiter and a positive person to have around our players.”
Collins has also brought Temple assistant strength and conditioning coach Ryan Horton, who will now be the team’s first director of applied science. According to Tech’s news release, Horton’s work will involve “applying scientific and innovative methods to the Yellow Jackets’ strength-and-conditioning program.”
Of the nine named assistants, six have come with Collins from Temple – offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude, defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker, co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Nathan Burton and Knight, Panagos and Wiesehan.
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