Jack Hines Position: Assistant Coach/Tight Ends

Jack Hines is in his seventh year with the Clemson football program after serving on the staff at Auburn from 1993-98. The 55-year old is responsible for the tight ends, a position he also coached in 2004.

Hines coached on the defensive side of the ball at Clemson from 1999-03. In 2003, he was in charge of the Whip linebackers and rovers, as both positions were a big reason Clemson finished the season ranked in the top 20 in the nation in scoring defense and second in the ACC in pass defense. Jamaal Fudge had over 100 tackles on Clemson's hard-hitting defense.

Clemson's first year (1999) with Jack Hines guiding the secondary was very successful. The pass defense ranked 17th in the country and second best in the ACC. The Tigers accumulated 19 interceptions, the highest total by a Clemson team since 1995 and 10th best in Clemson history. The Tigers finished the 1999 season ranked ninth in the country in total interceptions.

These statistics were not recorded against second rate competition. Hines had to prepare to play five of the top eight quarterbacks in the nation in terms of passing efficiency. The list of opposing quarterbacks on the 1999 agenda included Chris Weinke of Florida State, Michael Vick of Virginia Tech, Chad Pennington of Marshall, and Joe Hamilton of Georgia Tech.

Under Hines' coaching, Robert Carswell and Alex Ardley both ranked in the top 20 in the nation in interceptions per game. It marked the first time Clemson had two of the top-20 pass intercepters in the country in the same year.

In 2000, Hines' defensive backs helped Clemson rank 18th in the nation in rushing defense and 23rd in scoring defense. Ardley and Carswell were both first team All-ACC selections and Ardley ranked eighth in the nation in interceptions per game. Clemson opponents threw just nine touchdown passes all year, the second-best mark in the ACC. Clemson's pass efficiency defense was also second in the ACC. In 2001, Hines coached second-team All-ACC defensive back Charles Hafley. He was ninth overall in the ACC in tackles per game with 11.0.

In 2002, Hines coached two of the top-10 tacklers in the nation in John Leake and Rodney Thomas. Their season totals are among the top-10 single-season figures in Clemson history. The play of the linebackers had a lot to do with Clemson's 40-yard-per-game improvement in total defense in 2002.

Hines has also coached Clemson's kickers and punters the last six years. He coached the Tigers' career scoring leader (Aaron Hunt) from 2000-03. Clemson placekickers have made 60-80 field goals the last four seasons, a strong 75-percent mark.

Hines' tenure at Auburn began in 1993 when he coached the defensive backs. His coaching contributed to Auburn's perfect 11-0 season and #4 final ranking in the Associated Press poll. In 1994, the Auburn secondary intercepted 22 passes, the fourth-highest total in school history. Auburn returned eight interceptions for touchdowns during his first two years as secondary coach.

In an exciting 30-26 victory over Louisiana State in 1994, Auburn picked off four second-half passes and returned three of them for touchdowns. The last three seasons, Hines was responsible for Auburn's inside linebackers. The 1997 Tiger team won the Western Division of the SEC. Hines coached for six years at Auburn under Terry Bowden and is in his seventh year with Tommy Bowden at Clemson.

Before coming to Auburn, Hines spent six seasons at Samford in Birmingham, AL, where he had various titles. In his first season in 1987, he served as the school's recruiting coordinator. During the 1987-92 seasons, Hines was Samford's defensive coordinator as well as defensive backs coach.

Hines began his college coaching career in 1980 as a volunteer assistant at West Virginia. Before joining the Mountaineer staff, Hines had been an assistant coach at Morgantown High School for six seasons. After a year at West Virginia, Hines was a graduate assistant at Florida State for two years (1985,86).

As a player, Hines was a defensive back at West Virginia. He played in Morgantown for three seasons and was a member of the Mountaineers' 1969 Peach Bowl team. He actually first attended West Virginia as a walk-on on the basketball team and played only basketball during his freshman season.

As a graduate assistant coach at Florida State in 1986, Hines worked with future NFL star cornerback Deion Sanders.

While at Auburn, Hines coached future Arizona Cardinal Dell McGee, consensus first-team All-American Brian Robinson, and 1995 Co-SEC Freshman Defensive Player-of-the-Year Martavious Houston. Hines also coached Cincinnati Bengal and former Auburn All-America linebacker Takeo Spikes.

Hines is married to the former Robyn Bowden, and the couple has two children, Robert (24) and Jacquelyn (19). Jacquelyn is a sophomore on the Clemson women's soccer team in 2005.