ATLANTA—Former National Football League player Todd Perry has been added to the Georgia State football coaching staff as tackles and tight ends coach, head coach Bill Curry announced.
Perry played for Curry at Kentucky before an 11-year career as an NFL offensive lineman with the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.
Perry is the latest addition to a Georgia State coaching staff that also includes George Pugh, assistant head coach for recruiting and special projects/wide receivers; John Thompson, assistant head coach for scheduling and strategic planning/defensive coordinator; John Bond, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks; Anthony Midget, special teams and defensive backs; Mike Riddle, offensive line; and Chris Ward, defensive line.
The Georgia State football program begins play in 2010, but the Panthers will practice this fall, with 27 scholarship players and approximately 50 walk-ons reporting Aug. 11. The first official practice is scheduled for Aug. 17.
Since his retirement from the NFL, Perry has spent the last three seasons coaching on the high school level, working with the junior varsity programs at Alpharetta and Milton High Schools in metro Atlanta.
“For Todd to want to coach and want to come to Georgia State at this time is a huge bonus for us,” said Curry. “He will work with Mike Riddle on the offensive line, coaching the tackles and tight ends. As someone who recently played offensive line at the highest level , he will have instant credibility with our players.
“Todd was an immediate contributor for us at Kentucky, and he was one of those players it was a privilege to work with on the practice field every day.”
A native of Elizabethtown, Ky., Perry was an all-Southeastern Conference guard for Kentucky in 1992. He lettered four years for the Wildcats and was named the team's outstanding offensive lineman his junior and senior seasons.
He was selected in the fourth round of the 1993 NFL draft by the Bears, for whom he played eight seasons (1993-2000), including six years as a starter. He received the team's Brian Piccolo Award as an outstanding rookie in 1993.
Perry, who started a total of 144 NFL games, concluded his career with three seasons (2001-03) in Miami, where he was a member of an offensive line that blocked for NFL rushing leader Ricky Williams in 2002.
“I finished playing pro ball five years ago, but football kept pulling me back,” said Perry.
“Having played for Coach Curry at Kentucky, I have the utmost respect for him as a coach and as a person. To have the chance to make this transition from playing to coaching by learning under him at Georgia State is the perfect situation, and I'm extremely thankful for this opportunity.”
A three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Perry earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Kentucky in 1993.
He and his wife, Heidi, have three children: Tyler (12), Alexandra (11) and Kiley (5).
