Justin Hinds joined the Valdosta State coaching staff as the defensive line coach prior to the 2016 season.
Hinds brings two years of coaching experience from Division I's Southeastern Conference after having spent the 2014 season working under Coach David Turner at Mississippi State as a graduate assistant before a transitioning to another graduate assistant position at Florida for the 2015 season, where he worked under Chris Rumph and Geoff Collins to help lead the Gators to an SEC East title.
"Obviously this is a great opportunity at a great place with great tradition," said Hinds on Friday afternoon. "Just in my short time being here and getting a feel for the area, it's apparent that people really love football around here. This is an opportunity to coach some elite football players around a great fanbase, and I'm ready to be a part of something special that Coach Bell is building here at Valdosta State."
During his time in the SEC, Hinds had the opportunity to coach multiple NFL Draft picks, including John Bullard (2nd round to Chicago Bears) at Florida, along with Preston Smith (2nd round to Washington Redskins) and Chris Jones (2nd round to Kansas City Chiefs) at Mississippi State. Alex McCalister (5th round to Philadelphia Eagles) also benefitted from Hinds' tutelage while at Florida, and Hinds' recruiting efforts also helped the Gators acquire five-star defensive line recruit CeCe Jefferson, who went on to become an All-American during his freshman season in 2015 under the leadership of Hinds and the defensive line coaching staff at UF.
Prior to his hire at Mississippi State in 2014, Hinds worked as the Defensive Line Coach at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York, where he implemented defensive schemes and assisted the team's defensive coordinator with weekly game plans. His efforts helped lead the program to an NEC Championship in 2012, which represented the second of three seasons for Hinds with the team. Other experience includes defensive line coaching positions at Woodbridge and Plainfield in New Jersey, along with a position as the assistant defensive line coach at Rowan University, where he began his coaching career in Glassboro, New Jersey.
"Malik Hall at Wagner, David Turner at Mississippi College, and Chris Rumph and Geoff Collins at Florida are four guys who I've learned from in my career up to this point," added Hinds. "Everything those guys do is high intensity with an attack style of play. That's how I coach too, and that's my personality. Also, after watching those coaches and fitting their style with what I like to do, I've learned the importance of not only motivating players, but also teaching them and helping them understand why and how we do things. Fans can expect to see an attack-style, in your face type of front on defense, with guys that are going to want to get after it in any way necessary to help this team win."
