A former athlete in the Southland Conference, Clay Jennings returned to his native state of Texas in March, 2001, to become Sam Houston State’s secondary coach. Jennings played against the Bearkats in 1994 as a member of the University of North Texas Eagles Southland Conference championship team.
In his first season at Sam Houston State, Jennings coached a defensive secondary that helped the Bearkats to rank third in the SLC in total defense. The Bearkat secondary intercepted 13 passes during the 2001 championship season and was credited with 35 pass break-ups.
Free safety Keith Davis earned both NCAA I-AA All-America and first team All-Southland Conference selection. Davis completed his career ranked fourth on the all-time Sam Houston tackles list with 339.
Clay Jennings came to Sam Houston State from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, AR, where he was defensive back coach. He coordinated the punt return unit, recruiting for the Muleriders in Dallas/Fort Worth and Central Texas, the strength and conditioning programs not only for football but for eight other male and female varsity sports teams.
Previously, Jennings served as secondary coach/defensive special teams coordinator at Morningside College in Sioux City, IA, and was secondary coach/special teams coordinator at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. Jennings worked as a graduate assistant and student coach at North Texas, tutoring the defensive secondary. At Morningside, he coached three All-North Central Conference players and one All-American. He was responsible for recruiting Nebraska and Iowa. At Morehouse, he recruited South Carolina, North Carolina, and Atlanta, GA.
Jennings is a 1996 graduate of the University of North Texas in Denton, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology. He worked towards his Post Baccalaureate Teacher Certification at North Texas in 1997. He was a defensive lineman and special teams player for the Mean Green, earning four football letters. He played on North Texas’s 1994 Southland League championship team. He was an all-state and all-district district player for LaVega High School in Waco.