ODUSports.com is working on a variety of ways to continue to give Monarch Nation informative and creative content throughout this pandemic. The latest is a series of Q&A's with the football coaching staff. Today's Q&A is with defensive line coach, Andrew Jackson.
Q: What have the last two months been like coaching through zoom?
A: We had just started to build a good relationship with the players coming out of winter conditioning where we thought we were going to be able to have them see us coach football. To really get a chance to know each other personally. To get that taken away was frustrating.
Q: You were one of the last assistants brought in due to James Madison's playoff run. Were you able to talk to your players much before going recruiting and COVID-19?
AJ: I think I got in at just the right time because the guys were on winter break when I first got in. I was able to meet with them before I went out recruiting.
Q: Can you talk about your year at JMU and what you were able to accomplish?
AJ: That year was special because their mindset was they refused to lose. Those kids were always working, studying tape, asking high-level questions. They prepared and studied the game like any players I've worked with, including in the SEC and Big 10. They knew exactly what they had to do to win and they were going to do it.
Q: How has working at various levels of college football helped you in your career?
AJ: You learn to do things with smaller resources so when you get to Penn State or Mississippi State, you learn how to be more efficient. You learn how to prepare your own meetings, type up your own notes. You learn how to do all those little tasks. It makes you a more well-rounded coach and more efficient.
Q: You were an east coast guy before going to Mississippi State. What was your experience like there?
AJ: When I was a kid growing up in the east I would know all the linemen for the Giants and Jets. I would know all my pro sports teams. When I was at Mississippi State, we had a guy like Jeffrey Simmons (2019 first round pick), somebody would tell him I was from the same hometown as him and we'd really get into it.
Q: You were a full-time assistant coach at Fordham before taking the quality control coach position at Mississippi State. What went into that move?
AJ: The head coach at Fordham had taken the QB coach job at Mississippi State so it left us in a precarious situation. I felt like it was a better move for me to work with Coach Moorhead at Mississippi State. I always felt like it was easier to build and grow around people you trust. Coming from a Division II program as a player and a northeast guy, I didn't think it would be wise to turn down an offer from the SEC.
Q: What was your time like at Penn State?
AJ: I came in going into Coach Franklin's second year. The program was trending in the right direction. I was working with Sean Spencer on the defensive line. There was so much scrutiny and pressure in 2015. Coach Franklin was the first black head coach at Penn State. We limped through that season, we lost four-straight down the stretch. Having the chance to turn that around, winning the Big 10 Championship in 2016 and going to the Rose Bowl. You truly see, especially in times like right now what's going on in our country, if you put your minds together and folks buy into the message and really care about one another and have a singular focus with respect, you can really see what a team can do.
Q: Would you like to comment on what's going on in our country right now?
AJ: There's a lack of respect for life. Being a young black man, I can't say I haven't been in a similar situation as far as my life regarding police. I have police and military in my family so I have a great respect for what those folks do, but my parents taught me in first grade to treat others the way I wanted to be treated and that's regardless of sexual orientation, religious denomination, skin tone. I just always want people to judge and respect me for who I am, and I'll continue to do the same.
Q: Why did you get into coaching?
AJ: I never really wanted to coach. I think my college teammates and coaches will tell you I've always been a coach. I always wanted to help people and saw the game a little differently than my teammates. I wanted to be a school teacher but in New York when I graduated it was hard to become a teacher. I went back to LIU Post and my coach told me they had this GA job that could help me get into coaching or teaching. Coaching that first game was great and I've loved it ever since. No matter how long I spent in the office I was having fun being around football.
Q: Have you always been a guy that wanted to help people and how did that come about?
AJ: I got that from my father. My dad is an immigrant to this country. I watched him work hard and do whatever he could for his family. And no matter who my dad worked for, he would always bend over backwards for other folks. Whether it was his own family or a neighbor, my dad was always there for people. He always talked about how in this country, there was opportunity and what that meant to him. My dad just had genuine care for people. He was at every one of my games. He drove to Mississippi, he drove to State College for every home game. He's always been my hero. His actions and temperament were something I always wanted to emulate.
Q: What is your recruiting philosophy?
AJ: We have to go out there and find high-character, self-motivated individuals that want to compete for a greater good. He has to have those intangibles that will reflect on a good team. We also like to find kids that are from that community. Guys that want to give back to the area. Those kids in the area, up and down Richmond through the DMV, and close to the Carolina border, those kids have a different passion because they grew up here. This is their home.
Q: You played at LIU Post in New York. What were you able to learn and gain from your time there?
AJ: Post was awesome. I was injured in high school, I broke my leg my senior year, and Post was the only place that gave me a scholarship. I don't think I was able to maximize my full potential, but I worked my tail off. I learned some great life lessons and learned how to face adversity. I met people of all walks of life and where different people come from. I learned so many life lessons.
From the Sidelines: Andrew Jackson Q&A
