Clemson’s offseason of turnover continued Monday as defensive line coach Todd Bates is reportedly leaving the Tigers to become co-defensive coordinator under Brent Venables at Oklahoma. According to David Hood of TigerNet, Bates will share his defensive coaching duties with Ted Roof.
Bates had just received a pay increase and promotion to Assistant Head Coach at Clemson last month. The Alabama native spent five seasons as the Tigers’ defensive line coach while also serving as Clemson’s recruiting coordinator.
The 38-year-old has coached numerous NFL Draft picks, including Austin Bryant, Clelin Ferrell, Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins. Under Bates, Wilkins became just the fifth unanimous All-American in Clemson history. He also won the Outland, Nagurski, Bednarik and Lott trophies as well as the William V. Campbell Trophy — the “academic Heisman” in 2018. Bates has been widely regarded as one of the top young defensive assistants in all of college football for his ability to find, recruit, and develop elite talent.
One of Bates’ pupils, K.J. Henry also announced on Monday that he is returning to Clemson for the 2022 campaign. The standout defensive end made the announcement on social media just moments after the news regarding Todd Bates broke.
Henry registered 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss this season for the Tigers.
