Kirk Randal Botkin (born March 19, 1971) is the former defensive coordinator for the

South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a memb ...

Bulldogs football team and a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

and

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

who played four seasons in the NFL with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has since coached football at the collegiate level. Botkin and his wife, the former Rebecca Holloway, have three children.

Early life

Botkin was born in Baytown, Texas, where he attended Robert E. Lee High School.

College football

Botkin matriculated at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. In 1992, he was selected to the All- SEC football team, named by the conference's coaches. He was the first Razorback to earn that honor.

Pro football career

Botkin went undrafted in the

1994 NFL Draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Ma ...

, but was signed by the New England Patriots just afterward. He was released by the Patriots during training camp in August 1994. He was picked up by the New Orleans Saints once the 1994 season was underway. He remained with the Saints though the 1995 season. Botkin was waived by the Saints prior to the 1996 season, but was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was used by the Steelers over the next two seasons primarily as a

, but also saw some work at

due to an injury to the team's starting tight end,

Mark Bruener Mark Frederick Bruener (born September 16, 1972) is a former American football tight end of the National Football League (NFL), and a current college scout for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 27th overall in ...

. Botkin did not return for 1998 after the Steelers rescinded a contract offer to him.

Coaching career

Botkin was the linebackers coach for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

from 2012-2016. Previously, Botkin was hired as a football coach at

Jacksonville State University Jacksonville State University (JSU) is a public university in Jacksonville, Alabama. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in six academic schools leading to bachelor's, master's, education specialist, and doctorate degr ...

by head coach

Jack Crowe Jack Crowe (born May 2, 1947) is a former American football coach. He played quarterback at West End High School in Birmingham, Alabama. He was most recently the head coach at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, a position he held from 2000 ...

under whom Botkin had played at Arkansas. He moved on to become the

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

s coach and

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

coordinator at the

University of Louisiana at Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Cen ...

in 2006. Botkin returned to his alma mater, Arkansas, in 2008 as the

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

s coach and

coordinator under head coach

Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head co ...

. He was relieved of his special teams responsibilities in 2009, but remained as a defensive coach. He left Arkansas in January 2010. Then took a job at

Texas High School Texas High School (THS) is a public high school in Texarkana, Texas, United States. It is part of the Texarkana Independent School District and is classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League. In 2015, it was rated "Met St ...

in Texarkana, Texas (along with 2 other ex-NFL players:

Earnest Rhone Earnest Calvin Rhone (born August 20, 1953) is a former American football linebacker who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the ...

and

Cody Spencer Thomas Cody Spencer (born June 1, 1981) is a former NFL linebacker. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur ...

. On January 13, 2012, Botkin was named

s coach for the

. Botkin was relieved of his duties as linebackers coach at South Carolina after the retirement of Steve Spurrier. Botkin was then hired by the South Carolina State University Bulldogs in Orangeburg, SC as the defensive coordinator in February 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botkin, Kirk 1971 births Living people People from Baytown, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football tight ends Arkansas Razorbacks football players New Orleans Saints players Pittsburgh Steelers players Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas