(Peru, Neb.)—On Tuesday, May 10, the Peru State football team announced the hiring of H.T. Kinney to be its new offensive coordinator. Kinney was most recently an offensive analyst for FCS program Nicholls State during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
 
"We are extremely excited to have H.T. apart of the Bobcat football program," said head football coach Phil Ockinga. "He brings major experience on the offensive side of the ball and admired and respected in the coaching ranks."
 
Coach Kinney brings 33 years of coaching experience to the Bobcat program. He got his start with Monmouth College in 1988 as the linebackers and assistant special teams coach. Kinney spent one year overseas as the head coach of the Tolentino Orange Blades in Tolentino, Italy.
 
Kinney then came back to the states and has coached at a plethora of DI FCS schools. He was at Wagner College from 1991-1992 as the secondary and assistant special teams coach. Kinney then spent six seasons at Liberty University from 1993-1999 at a variety of different coaching positions.
 
From 1993-1995 he was the assistant special teams coach of Liberty as well as coaching defensive ends in 1993 and tight ends in 1994. He then moved over to coaching the running backs in 1996 and the offensive line from 1997-1999.
 
He then coached the running backs at Hofstra University from 2000-2001. Kinney then made his initial stop with Nicholls State starting in 2003-2009 where he again coached a number of various positions.
 
From 2003-2004 he coached the running backs. Then from 2004-2005 he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Kinney, from 2006-2009 was the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
 
Kinney then went back to Liberty for the 2010 and 2011 seasons to be the run game coordinator and coach the tight ends and fullbacks.
 
In 2012 he made a brief stop at DIII powerhouse University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he was the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator. Kinney then coached at Missouri Southern State University from 2013-2015. In the 2013-2014 seasons he was the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2015 he was the interim head coach in the spring.
 
Most recently Kinney was an offensive analyst for Nicholls State in his second stint with the team. The Colonels finished last season with a 6-5 overall record while they were 5-3 in the Southland Conference.
 
The Colonels scored 33.36 points per game last fall, while averaging 246.7 yards per game on the ground and 246.45 yards through the air. They averaged a total of 493.2 yards per game and scored 48 touchdowns.
 
"I'm excited to be here and work with Phil (Ockinga) I think we both see the potential here," said coach Kinney. "We just both hope it happens in a short order."
 
The Bobcat football team kicks off the 2022 football season with a trip Missouri Valley on Saturday,  August 27. at 6:00 p.m. Peru State's first home game will be the following Saturday, Sept. 3, vs. Central Methodist.