Nick Gentry begins his fourth season on the Gamecock staff and will coach outside linebackers for John Grass for the fourth year.
In his short time in Jacksonville, Gentry has helped develop one of the most fierce pass rushes in all of college football. He served as a defensive graduate assistant in 2013, working with the defensive line, and he helped the Gamecocks to an 11-4 overall record and into the NCAA Quarterfinals before moving to the full-time coach of JSU’s outside linebackers.
His first three seasons at JSU have seen unprecedented success for the Gamecocks. They are 33-6 and a perfect 23-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play with three OVC titles over the past three seasons and enter the 2017 season with the longest active conference win streak in all of Division I football at 24 games.
The 2016 season saw Gamecock football continue along the dominant path it has recently paved in FCS Football. JSU reached the No. 1 spot in the major polls for the second-straight year and entered the FCA Playoffs as the No. 3 National Seed, the third-straight season that JSU has been one of the top three seeds in the postseason. The Gamecocks went 10-2 and put together their third-straight perfect record in OVC play, making them the first team in league history to go three seasons in a row without a loss or a tie.
JSU was unbeaten against FCS foes in the 2016 regular season, and the defense was a big part of that. The Gamecocks once again boasted the OVC’s best defense and the fourth-best defense in FCS, holding opposing offenses to less than 275 yards per game. The Gamecocks were also the best in the nation at getting off of the field on third down, limiting foes to a .231 third-down conversion percentage.
JSU also ranked third nationally in red zone defense, fifth in rushing defense, seventh in scoring defense, seventh in interceptions, seventh in sacks, eighth in tackles for a loss and 11th in turnover margin.
Gentry’s outside linebackers and defensive ends wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks and were led by consensus All-American Darius Jackson. The OVC Defensive Player of the Year and an All-America selection by every FCS outlet, Jackson was one of the nation’s top pass rushers in 2016, leading the OVC and ranking 16th nationally in sacks per game with 0.83. He ended the season with 10 sacks and 15 tackles for a loss, both tops in the league. Through just three seasons in a Gamecock uniform, Jackson has already made his mark in the record books. He holds the school’s career records for both sacks (20.5) and tackles for a loss (40.0) with one year of eligibility remaining.
The 2015 campaign took Gamecock football to new heights. A 13-2 record included a 12-game win streak that was one shy of the school record and also featured over 50 school records. The Gamecocks’ lone losses were to No. 6 Auburn in overtime and to North Dakota State in the FCS title game.
JSU was ranked No. 1 in the polls for the first time in school history and held that ranking for 11 weeks. The Gamecocks went unbeaten again in the OVC to win their second-straight title and was warded the No. 1 national seed in the FCS Playoffs. JSU stood up to that seeding, downing No. 7 Chattanooga in overtime in the second round before routing No. 8 Charleston Southern and No. 7 Sam Houston State in the quarters and semis, respectively.
Gentry had all-conference players on both ends in 2015, with Chris Landrum earning All-America honors and First Team All-OVC accolades before signing a free agent deal with the San Diego Chargers. Landrum and fellow end Darius Jackson, a Second Team All-OVC performer, both broke the school record for tackles for a loss with 19.0 in 2015 and paced an attack that led the nation with 136 stops in the backfield. JSU’s average of 9.0 tackles for a loss were fourth nationally and played a big role in JSU leading the OVC and ranking 12th nationally in total defense.
In his first season in 2014, he led a group of outside linebackers that were instrumental in helping a JSU pass rush that was one of the best in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Gamecocks finished second in the OVC in total defense and pass defense, while leading the league and ranking 23rd in the nation in rushing defense at just 127.7 yards per game. That stingy defense helped JSU post a 10-2 record, including a perfect 8-0 OVC record and the school’s fourth OVC title. Chris Landrum and LaMichael Fanning earned All-OVC honors in 2014, combining for 15 tackles for a loss and seven sacks.
The Gamecocks had three players earn All-OVC honors on the defensive side of the ball in 2013 with junior nose tackle Caleb Lawrence and Landrum joining defensive back Pierre Warren on the team.
Jax State set the Ohio Valley Conference and school single-season record with 52 sacks for 321 yards and finished the season ranked fourth in the nation in sacks. The Gamecocks also set the OVC and school record by recording 11 sacks against No. 6 McNeese State in the second round of the FCS playoffs. The 11 sacks were also the most in a FCS game last season and the fourth most in NCAA history.
The Gamecock defense also ranked 12th nationally in turnovers gained with 28, while returning four of those for defensive touchdowns. JSU also set school record for tackles for loss (107) and yards from tackles for loss (488).
Gentry joined the Gamecocks after a five-year career at the University of Alabama, where he played under head coach Nick Saban. Gentry earned four letters while helping the Crimson Tide win BCS National Championships in 2009 and 2011.
 As a senior in 2011, Gentry finished the year ranking second on the team with 4.5 sacks and fourth on the team with 6.0 tackles for loss of 37 yards, and he finished with 23 tackles on the season.
Gentry prepped at Prattville High School from 2003-06, where he was a part of the school’s first undefeated team going 15-0 and winning the 2006 AHSAA Class 6A State Championship his senior year.
He recorded 54 tackles, including 16 sacks, as a senior in 2006. As a junior in 2005, he had 100 tackles (42 solo), including 16 for loss and 22 sacks. He was also named Autauga County Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.
Gentry has one son, Brennan, and is married to former Magen Mathis.
