Mario Cristobal breaks down what Chevis Jackson brings to Miami staff

Earlier in the week, the Miami Hurricanes decided to bring in Chevis Jackson on their coaching staff. On the Thursday edition of The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell, Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal opened up on what Jackson brings to Coral Gables.

LSU football is a place that’s known to have some of the top cover corners in college football over the years. And Jackson was lucky enough to not only play in the Tigers’ secondary, but finished with first-team All-SEC honors in 2007. He was dominant in his final two seasons there as a player.

So does Jackson bring that mentality to Miami? Cristobal thinks he brings that and more.

“Well, I think number one, as someone who’s familiar with Coach [Lance] Guidry and his scheme. And Coach Guidry, if you look at his track record, it’s hard to find a guy that’s had his success defensively across the country for decades,” Cristobal began.

Guidry’s defense in 2022 with the Marshall Thundering Herd ranked in the Top 10 nationally in 12 different defensive categories.

“And here’s a guy that’s a super high-level teacher of technique and fundamentals that understands the entire system at corner and at safety. But can really get into techniques and fundamentals both at position. And that’s critically important because I think a lot of times in college football,” Cristobal continued.

“We don’t hire guys that are just recruiters. We want guys that are teachers and developers. When you sit in a room with our coaches, parents need to see how is this coach, how is this mentor gonna help take my son’s internal makeup. His character. His growth. His development. As a player, as a person, what’s he gonna do to help him take those steps to elevate? To accomplish those goals and those dreams?

“I think when you look at a guy like Chevis Jackson man, he checks all the boxes. Guys like Jason Taylor. They check all the boxes. Guys like Jason Taylor. Checks all the boxes. Alex Mirabal.”

Jackson arrives in Coral Gables with more than a decade of experience coaching defensive backs. He spent the 2023 season with the Marshall Thundering Herd, working as their co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. Before Marshall, Jackson spent from 2019-2021 with the Kansas Jayhawks, where he worked as their defensive backs coach.

“We believe in coaching,” Cristobal said. “We coach because of our coaches. I love my high school coach. Bad son of a gun. I love Coach Jimmy Johnson. Those dudes were ball coaches. They kicked your butt. Right? And they push ya and they challenge ya. They never allowed you to make any excuses. But they were great teachers. They were great mentors. And that’s what we have just surrounded ourselves and our players with over here. And we’re gonna keep doing that. It’s important to us.”

The Miami Hurricanes will kick off their 2024 campaign against the Florida Gators. That one is slated for Aug. 31.