Karl Balls enters his first season as a volunteer assistant coach on the Delta State University football staff.
Balls duties include assisting with the defensive line as well as coordinating injured player workouts and preparing defense staff meetings.
Balls enters the coaching ranks after 20 years in the criminal justice field, where he recently retired in 2018 after serving 15 years as a Deputy Probation Officer.
Balls was inducted in the Delta State University Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. Balls lettered for the Statesmen from 1983-1986 for coach Jimmy "Red" Parker, while earning All-American honors on the defensive line in 1986. A two-time All-Gulf South Conference selection at defensive tackle, Balls helped lead the Statesmen to 22 wins during his tenure and an undefeated stretch against in-state rival Mississippi College. In 1984, Balls finished with 9.5 sacks to rank second in single-season history, while his 19.5 career sacks still rank fifth in program history.
Balls graduated from Delta State in 1987 with a degree in criminal justice.
