Klay Killingsworth enters his seventh season with the Blue Hose and the sixth as the defensive line coach.
Killingsworth helped PC to a 6-5 record, the program’s first winning season since 2007 and its first-ever in the Big South. The defense shut down foes and led to Blue Hose ranked wins over No. 12 Furman and No. 22 Charleston Southern and the team's two road wins stand as the most since three in 2007.
Against FCS competition, PC finished with a 5-2 record and its only two losses came to FCS playoff teams Coastal Carolina and Liberty. PC's defense set new school Division I records in nearly every category, including total offense yards (4163), opponent points scored (270), opponent touchdowns (36) and opponent total offense per game (378.5 yards). Those records come in a season that saw the Blue Hose play three FBS teams and against FCS competition, PC allowed only 15.9 points and 310.0 total offense yards per game. The Blue Hose also finished the season with the nation's second-ranked red zone defense.
Blue Hose defensive players earned four weekly awards in 2015, including the entire defense recieving the Big South Defensive Player of the Week award for PC's win over Western Carolina.
During the 2009 campaign, Killingsworth's group was the youngest among any of the positions for the Blue Hose. His unit accounted for three of the top six tacklers on the team, including standout Derek Brown, who was second on the team with 29 solo tackles. The group really started coming together in the second half of the season, ending the year by helping hold Gardner-Webb to 21 points in the season finale.
"Klay is an outstanding young coach," Nichols said. "He has a wealth of collegiate and high school experience. Klay will be a valuable recruiter on staff. He and his lovely wife will be a great addition to the PC family."
Killingsworth, who was on the PC staff in the late 1990's under Daryl Dickey and Tommy Spangler, makes his return to the school to coach the linebackers.
Killingsworth comes to PC after spending two years at North Paulding H.S., in Dallas, Ga. There, he was the defensive coordinator and an assistant head coach. Prior to his time at North Paulding, Killingsworth was the defensive line coach at Worth County H.S.
He also spent time at Gainesville H.S. and Cherokee H.S., respectively, as the linebackers and defensive line coach.
After leaving PC in June '99, Killingsworth headed to Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va. There, he was the defensive line coach while also being named the assistant wrestling and assistant strength and conditioning coach.
In 2001, he accepted the assistant football coach position while being in charge of the defensive line unit at Columbia University.
After one year, he took the position of assistant dean of recreation at Hidden Lake Academy.
He then turned to the high school ranks and Cherokee H.S. in July 2003.
Killingsworth earned his bachelor degree in recreation management from West Georgia in 1998. In 2005, he was inducted into the West Georgia Hall of Fame.
At West Georgia, Killingsworth was a four-year letterwinner as a defensive lineman. He garnered all-Gulf South accolades his senior season. That same year, he picked up all-South region honors and was a second-team All-American. A team captain his senior season, he was selected to play in the Division II all-star game.
