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2013 Georgia State Football
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ASSISTANT COACHES
FOOTBALL STAFF
S
hannon Jackson joined the
Georgia State football staff
of head coach Trent Miles as
defensive line coach, the same position
he held on Miles’ staff at Indiana State the
last five years.
In 2012, Jackson, who also served
as assistant head coach at ISU, helped
coach a defense that ranked third in the
nation in scoring defense, allowing just
14.3 points per game, and sixth nationally
in total defense at 296.4 yards per game.
The Sycamores were fifth nationally in
pass efficiency defense, 14th in passing
yards allowed and 28th in rushing yards
allowed.
The highlight of the 2012 season was
Indiana State’s 17-14 road victory at No.
1-ranked and defending FCS champion
North Dakota State. In that game, the ISU
defense scored 14 points.
In 2011, ISU defensive end Ben
Obaseki earned first-team All-America
honors by the Associated Press as he and
teammate Shakir Bell, a running back,
became the first Sycamores to earn this
honor.
Jackson spent a total of 10 seasons
at Indiana State, originally coaching on
the Sycamores’ staff from 2000-04 before
returning to his alma mater in 2008 when
Miles took over.
He was a key component in the
Sycamores’ remarkable turnaround under
Miles that saw ISU post a winning season
in 2010 for the first time since 1996.
The program added winning campaigns
in 2011 and 2012 to give ISU three
consecutive winnings seasons for the first
time since the 1960s.
SHANNON JACKSON
Defensive Line
First Year at GSU
Before returning to Indiana State,
Jackson spent three years coaching the
defensive line at Eastern Illinois (2005-
07). In 2006, he helped coach a defensive
unit that led the nation with 36 turnovers
forced.
In the summer of 2003, Jackson
worked with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ staff
through the NFL’s Minority Internship
Program.
After a standout playing career at
Indiana State, Jackson began his coaching
career in 2000 as a graduate assistant on
the ISU staff, working with tight ends.
He moved to a full-time position as a
defensive assistant from 2001-03.
In that first stint at ISU, he tutored
Kyle Mitchell, who went on to break the
school sack record that Jackson himself
had set during his playing days. Jackson
also coached Richard Harris, who signed
a free agent contract with the Tennessee
Titans.
Jackson was a standout defensive
lineman for the Sycamores, earning
All-America recognition as a senior in
1999.
A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Jackson
earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana
State in criminology in 2000. He and his
wife, Sumalayo, have a son, Bryson, and a
daughter, Brylee.
