Georgia State D-line coach Shannon Jackson to return to Indiana State
Georgia State defensive line coach Shannon Jackson has accepted the same role at Indiana State, according to a source.
The move marks a return to Jackson’s alma mater, where he starred on the defensive line, earning All-America honors as a senior in 1999. He also coached at Indiana State for 10 seasons, including five under head coach Trent Miles before moving with Miles to Georgia State in 2013.
Jackson helped the Sycamores post a winning record in 2010, their first since 1996. In 2012, he helped coach a defense that ranked third in the FCS in scoring defense and fifth in total defense.
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He began his coaching career at Indiana State in 2000 as a graduate assistant and became a full-time defensive assistant with the Sycamores in ’01. Jackson took over the defensive line at Eastern Illinois in ’05 and coached on the Panthers’ staff for three seasons before returning to Indiana State when Miles became the head coach in ’08.
After seven seasons on Miles’s staff, Jackson parts ways with the head coach. Georgia State’s pass defense improved tremendously last season, dropping its yards allowed per attempt from 8.6 in 2013 to 6.7 in ’14. The Panthers return 17 starters, including senior quarterback Nick Arbuckle, who led the Sun Belt in passing yards last year.
Georgia State began its spring practices on March 9 and will wrap up its workouts with a scrimmage on April 11.
