Todd Bates (American football) facts for kids
Bates with Clemson in 2021.
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| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Co-defensive coordinator & defensive tackles coach |
| Team | Oklahoma |
| Conference | SEC |
| Annual salary | $700,000 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | March 12, 1983 Heflin, Alabama, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2001–2004 | Alabama |
| 2005–2006 | Tennessee Titans |
| Position(s) | Defensive end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2007 | Talladega HS (assistant) |
| 2008–2011 | Oxford HS (AL) (assistant) |
| 2011–2012 | Idaho State (DL) |
| 2013 | East Central CC (DL) |
| 2014–2016 | Jacksonville State (DL) |
| 2017 | Clemson (DL) |
| 2018–2019 | Clemson (DT) |
| 2020–2021 | Clemson (DT/RC) |
| 2022–present | Oklahoma (co-DC/DT) |
Todd Bates was born on March 12, 1983. He is an American football coach and a former player. Currently, he works as a co-defensive coordinator and defensive tackles coach for the University of Oklahoma. Before this, he was a defensive tackles coach and recruiting coordinator at Clemson University from 2018 to 2021.
Todd Bates is known as one of the best recruiters in college football. He even won the Rivals Recruiter of the Year award in 2019. This award shows how good he is at finding and bringing talented players to his teams.
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Todd Bates's Playing Days
Todd Bates played as a defensive end for the University of Alabama. He played there for four years, from 2001 to 2004. In his final year, he was a co-captain of the team. He even won an award for being the best defensive lineman in the SEC for one game.
After college, he joined the Tennessee Titans in 2005. He played with them for two seasons. He then stopped playing football because of several injuries.
Todd Bates's Coaching Career
Starting as a Coach
Todd Bates began his coaching journey at Talladega High School in Alabama. He worked there as an assistant coach. Later, he moved to Oxford High School, also as an assistant.
After coaching high school, he became a defensive line coach at Idaho State for two seasons. He then coached at East Central Community College. After that, he joined Jacksonville State as their defensive line coach.
Coaching at Clemson
In 2017, Todd Bates became the defensive line coach at Clemson University. He was recommended for the job by another coach he had met. He quickly made a big difference for the team.
Clemson's defensive line became even stronger under his coaching. Many of his players earned special honors. They were recognized as some of the best players in college football. In 2020, Bates also took on the role of recruiting coordinator. This meant he was in charge of finding new players for Clemson. In December 2021, he was promoted to assistant head coach at Clemson.
Coaching at Oklahoma
On January 4, 2022, Todd Bates moved to the University of Oklahoma. He became the co-defensive coordinator and defensive tackles coach there. At Oklahoma, he reunited with Brent Venables, who he had worked with at Clemson.
About Todd Bates's Life
Todd Bates is married to La'Tesa. They have four children: Angel, Josiah, and twin daughters Star and Summer. When he was in college at Alabama, Todd Bates started writing poetry. Some of his poems have even been featured on t-shirts and murals. He also has a website where he shares his poems.
