The Clemson Insider has confirmed Clemson’s new defensive line coach Todd Bates had his contract approved by the Board of Trustees Compensation Committee on Monday.

The compensation committee approved a two-year deal worth $250,000 annually. Bates replaces Marion Hobby, who left Clemson last week to be the new defensive line coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Bates just completed his third season at Jacksonville State.

TCI has also learned Mickey Conn’s new contract has not been approved at this time. Conn of course was already on staff at Clemson so there is no urgency to get a new deal done at this time.

Conn was hired last week to fill Dan Brook’s spot on Dabo Swinney’s staff. He will coach defensive backs for the Tigers.

According to the Jacksonville State’s official Web site Bates played for the Crimson Tide from 2001-2004 and graduated in 2005 with a degree in Business Management. While playing for the Crimson Tide, Bates was the only true freshman to play for the Tide in 2001.

He was also selected SEC Defensive Player of the Week twice, and named permanent team captain for the 2004 season. After college, Bates played for the Tennessee Titans as a defensive end from 2005 through the 2006 season.

Bates began his coaching career at Talladega High School in 2007. The following year, he coached at Oxford High School under current JSU head coach John Grass, where he was an assistant football coach for the Yellow Jackets, as well as the head strength and conditioning coach. He spent the next two years at Idaho State coaching the defensive line.

In 2015, JSU led the nation in tackles for a loss after recording a school-record 136 stops in the backfield, an average of 9.0 per game that ranked fourth in FCS.

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