Hurricanes bring on Marshall’s Jackson as cornerbacks coach
The Hurricanes staff is complete again.
On Wednesday, Miami hired Marshall defensive backs coach Chevis Jackson to coach its secondary. Jackson fills the void left by Jahmile Addae, who departed the Hurricanes to coach with the Buffalo Bills.
“I am thrilled to welcome Coach Jackson, his wife Ashley and his three children to our family,” UM coach Mario Cristobal said in a press release. “At every stop of his career, beginning with his playing days in college and in the NFL, Coach Jackson has made his impact felt.
“His units have ranked among the nation’s best by almost every measure, and his groups are defined by a high football IQ, their physicality and their ball-hawking ability. I know he will make a tremendous impact on our defense and on our program, as both a recruiter and teacher of fundamentals, which are at a premium in the secondary.”
Jackson coached under current UM defensive coordinator Lance
Guidry in 2022 when Guidry held the same role with the Thundering Herd.
“I’m very excited. Just walking through the halls of this building, there are so many legends to have come through here – players who not only excelled in college, but who went on to greatness in the NFL,” Jackson said in a press release. “This is a premier place in all of football. Why wouldn’t you want to come to the U? It’s amazing to be here, and I’m appreciative of the opportunity. Being here, getting the opportunity to be at a place like this, I’m very excited and I’m ready to get to work.”
In Jackson’s two seasons at Marshall, the Thundering Herd were 62nd and 27th nationally in pass defense in 2023 and 2022, respectively. They finished sixth in the Sun Belt in pass defense last year and first in 2022.
Prior to his tenure at Marshall, Jackson coached defensive backs at Kansas for three seasons. Before his stint with the Jayhawks, Jackson was the defensive backs coach at Ball State for three seasons. He also worked as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, LSU, for one season and at South Alabama for two seasons.
Jackson won a national title and was a first-team All-SEC cornerback at LSU and spent four seasons in the NFL.
Jackson takes over a UM secondary that was solid but had room for improvement last year. The Hurricanes were 55th in pass defense last season, surrendering 216 passing yards per game. They finished the year ninth in the ACC in pass defense.
Miami lost several key players from last year’s secondary. All-American safety Kamren Kinchens declared for the NFL draft, as did fellow safety James Williams. The Hurricanes also lost a rotational cornerback in Davonte Brown, who transferred to Florida State.
The Hurricanes return key defensive backs like starting cornerback Daryl Porter Jr. and talented rising sophomore Damari Brown.
UM signed five defensive backs in their 2024 recruiting class and added three defensive backs through the transfer portal: Savion Riley from Vanderbilt, Mishael Powell from Washington and Isaiah Taylor from Arizona.