THE LINTON FILE

PERSONAL

Year in Coaching: Sixth in 2026
Year at K-State: First in 2026
Hometown: Walnut, Mississippi
Education: Mississippi, 2019 (Bachelor's in Sport and Recreation Administration); Arkansas, 2025 (Master's in Adult and Lifelong Learning)

COACHING EXPERIENCE

2021: Lafayette HS (Defensive Backs)
2022: East Mississippi CC (Safeties/Wide Receivers)
2023: Jacksonville State (Defensive Graduate Assistant)
2024-25: Arkansas (Assistant Defensive Backs/Nickelbacks)
2026: K-State (Defensive Analyst)

POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE

2015: Sugar Bowl (Ole Miss)*
2022: MACCC Semifinalis (East Mississippi CC)
2023: New Orleans Bowl (Jacksonville State)
2024: Liberty Bowl (Arkansas)
* As a Player

Armani Linton is in his first season at K-State in 2026 as a defensive analyst. He came to Manhattan after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant defensive backs/nickelbacks coach at Arkansas, serving on the same staff as current K-State co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson.

During his first year at Arkansas, Linton helped the Razorbacks open the season with their first shutout in six years in addition to collecting road victories at Auburn and Mississippi State. Against the Tigers, Linton helped tutor a secondary that picked off four passes and break up six others, while they tallied a pair of interceptions against the Bulldogs.

A 2022 YBC Rising Coaches honoree, Linton was a defensive graduate assistant working with the defensive backs at Jacksonville State in 2023, helping the Gamecocks to their first bowl appearance and victory in school history. That season, JSU hauled in 16 interceptions to tie for 10th in the nation, and he assisted in the development of cornerback Derek Carter, who earned All-Conference USA Second Team honors.

Linton coached at East Mississippi Community College during the 2022 season as he was originally hired as an assistant safeties coach before being promoted to a full-time role coaching the wide receivers. At EMCC, Linton helped the Lions to a No. 5 final ranking, the No. 3 scoring offense (36.4 points per game), a top-five ranking in nearly every offensive category and a MACCC State Championship win in 2022. That came after he began his coaching career at Lafayette High School in Oxford, Mississippi, coaching the defensive backs, in 2021.

A native of Walnut, Mississippi, Linton played safety and running back at Ole Miss. He earned his undergraduate degree in sport and recreation administration from Mississippi in 2019, while he obtained a master’s degree in adult and lifelong learning from Arkansas in 2025.