Assistant coach Jahmile Addae pens farewell tweet to Georgia football

A day after it was reported he would leave Georgia for Miami, Jahmile Addae made it official. The defensive backs coach posted a farewell message via Twitter on Tuesday, thanking the Bulldogs for his time with the program.

“I am forever thankful to coach Kirby Smart and Dawg Nation for my time here at the University of Georgia,” Addae wrote. “The players I coaches and the coaches I had the privilege of coaching alongside have been a blessing to my family and I in so many ways. I believe in letting the Lord guide my steps… With that being said, my time in Athens has come to an end but will forever remain with me.”

❤️🖤 #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/ECyWtoBuSj

— Jahmile Addae (@Coach_Addae) February 8, 2022

Reports first emerged Monday evening that Jahmile Addae was leaving Georgia to sign a two-year deal as the defensive backs coach of Miami. The coach spent one season in Athens after previous stops at West Virginia, Cincinnati and Arizona. He helped coach a Bulldogs secondary that led the SEC with 16 interceptions and 62 passes defended. Georgia also finished 12th in the country in passing defense, giving up just 189.7 yards per game.

The Hurricanes are getting one of the best recruiters in the country. Addae aided the team in landing the No. 3 overall class in 2022 according to On3’s Team Consensus Rankings, including a commitment from five-star safety and No. 6 overall player Malaki Starks.

A former West Virginia defensive back from 2002-06, Addae later returned as a coach. By 2020, he had turned the Mountaineers pass defense into the best in the country. They ranked first nationally with 159.6 passing yards allowed per game that season while also forcing 11 interceptions. Addae convinced prized WVU safety Tykee Smith to follow him to Georgia, but injuries limited him to only two games.

Miami is coming off of a tumultuous 2021 campaign that ended with the firing of coach Manny Diaz. The Hurricanes finished 7-5 and 11th in the ACC in passing defense. They earned a trip to the Sun Bowl, but had to opt out of the game because of COVID-19 concerns.

The school hired Mario Cristobal away from Oregon as Diaz’s replacement. Cristobal later hired Kevin Steele, a former Broyles Award finalist in 2019, as his next defensive coordinator. He also brought defensive line coach Joe Salave’a with him from Oregon.

With the addition of Addae, the Hurricanes defensive staff is nearly complete.