New Tennessee LEO coach Andrew “AJ” Jackson met with the local media Thursday afternoon in his first press conference since joining Josh Heupel’s staff. Jackson spent last season on Penn State’s staff and the previous four years at West Virginia.
Jackson discussed working with Jim Knowles, talented transfer LEO Chaz Coleman and much more. Here’s everything Jackson said.
More From RTI: Everything New Tennessee Co-Defensive Coordinator Anthony Poindexter Said In Introductory Presser
On what led him here and how the last three or four weeks have been settling in here at Tennessee
“(The) opportunity to work with coach (Jim) Knowles again. He helped me through a little turmoil I was going through when my mom passed last season in February. Basically gave me something to do to get past that. (The) opportunity to come to Tennessee, a great place, to work with coach (Josh) Hepel. Another opportunity to come back to the SEC and coach. (To) coach with Coach Garner definitely was an eye-opening opportunity for me, too.”
On Jim Knowles giving him the opportunity to do something to get past the loss of his mother
“He’s a tough love kind of guy. I think he had known I was going through some grief. So, I think he knows keeping busy, the love I have for the game and giving me tasks to do just so I’m not sitting there sulking. I think he took special note to that and helped me through it.”
On what he saw in Chaz Coleman last year despite the small number of snaps played as a true freshman
“Even though he was a young guy, he played the game with recklessness and a sixth sense he had about him. The first thing that caught our eyes were him running to the ball, even though he didn’t know what to do. His hustle, his effort, him trying to play really strong and being fearless against kids that were older than him and bigger than him and stronger than him. He really had no fear.”
On overall thoughts of position room and what he likes about it going into the spring and what needs to be worked on
“Young and inexperienced so far, but a lot of good football minds. Hungry. Willing to learn. Really receptive to coaching. Want to be good. Really competitive.”
On what makes people want to gravitate towards Jim Knowles in the coaching industry
“I know you guys see him, like, between the lines – looks like a crusty old man. But he actually has a big personality. He’s one of the more funny people I’ve ever been around. Good person. Good human being. Gets it. Loves what he does. Loves teaching. He’s just a perfect leader of men, like coach (Anthony) Poindexter said. He’s an all-around just good guy you want to be around.”
On being surrounded by coaches he’s worked with in the past, new coaches and new players here at Tennessee
“With the coaching staff in general, a wealth of experience. I’m the youngest guy on the staff in the defensive room, but they’re all humble. They’ve all had great experiences. I mean, coach (Anthony) Poindexter is a Hall of Famer. Knowles is a Broyles (Award) Finalist. I’m assuming coach (Rodney) Garner is going to end up in the Hall of Fame as well. But they’re just still willing to teach and they love the game. They love being around these kids for the right reasons, where there’s no egos and they just want to go out here and win.”
On coach DT Xavier Gilliam last season at Penn State
“Really raw talent. Really quick. Flexible kid. Has a lot of power and a lot of potential. He pushed his way almost into a starting role at Penn State. I think he’s a kid that really bought into the system and how he was being coached and wanted to take his game to the next level and move on from Penn State.”
On lessons that he has learned as the youngest guy on Tennessee’s defensive staff
“Sometimes you got to sit there, shut up- -figure out what’s going on before you talk. Put the cart before the horse.”
On what Derek Jones brings to the defensive staff
“Cheetah, man. Excellent recruiter. Leader of men. Well known for how he interacts with the kids. Even though we have an older staff, guys like Cheetah, they still are able to relate to the younger players and get the best out of those guys.”
