MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones completed his coaching staff for the 2012 season with the announcement Tuesday that he has hired Jerry Mack to serve as an assistant coach.
Mack will work with Jaguar wide receivers, a position he has five years of experience guiding at three different NCAA Division I institutions.
Mack was the wide receivers coach at Memphis last fall, where he helped Tannar Rehrer rank among the top 10 in Conference USA — and among the top 50 in the country — in receptions per game after making 70 catches for 593 yards and four touchdowns. In all, six different Tiger wideouts recorded a double-digit reception total in his only season with the program while four of those individuals scored at least one touchdown.
He first worked with wide receivers as an assistant at Jackson State from 2006-07. While with the Tigers, he was part of a staff that led the program to the Southwestern Athletic Conference title in 2007, and his efforts helped Jaymar Johnson get selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of the 2008 National Football League Draft. Mack was selected to coach in the Heritage Bowl all-star contest following his second season on staff.
Mack was the receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Central Arkansas during the 2008 and ’09 campaigns as well. The Bears finished 10-2 in his first season on staff, ranking 10th at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) level in total offense while finishing 12th in the final Sports Network poll. In two seasons, Mack had three receivers earn honorable mention all-Southland Conference accolades while 14 UCA players on the offensive side of the ball received all-league recognition during that span; that included Nathan Brown being voted the conference Player of the Year in 2008.
In 2010, Mack was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Golden Lions finished that fall second in the SWAC in passing and total offense, ranking in the top 30 nationally in both categories. Individually, Raymond Webber was a candidate for the Walter Payton Award— presented to the top offensive player at the FCS level — and named to eight different All-America teams after leading the country in receiving yards per contest while standing second in catches per outing. Josh Boudreaux was honorable mention all-conference after finishing in the top 35 in the country in total offense and pass efficiency.
“First of all, Jerry has a very energetic personality,” stated Jones. “He knows the fundamentals of receiver play and is knowledgeable there, and he has been a coordinator as well as a receivers coach so he understands things from both sides. He is going to fit with our young men at wide receiver from a character standpoint; he’s going to be a leader for those guys.
“That’s what I was looking for, and Jerry showed he had all three of those qualities.”
“This is a program I’ve had my eye on for a few years now,” Mack said. “After visiting with coach Jones and the staff, everything is positive with the direction that the program is headed. I’m looking forward to getting back in the Sun Belt [Conference] and contributing to the staff.”
A native of Memphis, Mack began his collegiate career at Jackson State before transferring after one season to Arkansas State. He would go letter three times at ASU before earning his bachelor’s degree from the school in management information systems. Mack would go on to get his master’s degree in physical education from Delta State in 2006 after serving on the Statesmen coaching staff as a graduate assistant.
He has also completed three internships in the NFL with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.
Mack and his wife Starlett have one son, Jaden, and one daughter, Skyler.
The Jaguars are slated to begin spring practice on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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