ATLANTA — Pending Institute approval, Andy McCollum, a veteran coach with nearly 30 years of college coaching experience, will be named to the Georgia Tech staff as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.

“We will be happy to have a coach with the experience and knowledge that Andy will bring to our program,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “I have coached against and recruited against him for a long time, and I am confident he will do an outstanding job here at Tech.”

McCollum comes to Georgia Tech after serving three seasons as linebackers coach at NC State, where he was a part of Wolfpack head coach Tom O’Brien’s initial coaching staff. NC State, which comes back on the Yellow Jacket schedule this fall for the first time since 2006, participated in the 2008 Papajohns.com Bowl.

Prior to his tenure at NC State, McCollum spent one season in the NFL as an advance scout for the Tennessee Titans in 2006.

“I am excited to be a part of a great coaching staff and to work with Coach Johnson,” McCollum said. “It’s a great opportunity to come back home to Georgia and work at an outstanding school.

“I’m also excited about continuing the relationships within the state that I have developed over the years. Without question, some of the best high school football programs are in the state of Georgia.”

McCollum served as head coach at Middle Tennessee State for seven seasons (1999-2005), helping the Blue Raider program make the transition from a struggling I-AA squad to a successful I-A program that competed against BCS opponents 24 times during his tenure. MTSU, which also appears on the Tech schedule this fall, set 84 school records with McCollum at the helm.

In 2000, McCollum led the Blue Raiders to a 6-5 record, their first winning record as a I-A program, including back-to-back wins over Connecticut and South Florida by a combined score of 111-19.