WVU Football’s Jackson Selected to Coaches Leadership Institute

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU Football’s Andrew Jackson was awarded on Tuesday as a member of the American Football Coaches Association’s 35 Under 35 Leadership Initiative.

The defensive line coach joins a mixture of high school, NCAA and NFL coaches on the list. Jackson was added to the Mountaineer staff last January after an already illustrious defensive coaching career; stints with Old Dominion, James Madison, Mississippi State, Fordham, Penn State, Stony Brook, and LIU-Post allowed him the defensive coaching experience to succeed in another Power-5 atmosphere.

In order to become eligible for this prestigious group of coaches, Jackson had to first submit a resume, five references, and a 1,600-word article or five-minute live instructional video on a position-specific topic of his choosing. Then, he was selected from the pool of applicants more than 200-deep as one of the 35 individuals allowed to participate in the institute in 2022.

This one-day conference allows participants to work toward becoming “premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession.” Topics discussed are tailored to emphasize coaching leadership, ethical decision making, influential responsibilities, career progression, and family balance.

Congratulations to @CoachJaxDL from @WVUfootball on being selected to the 2022 AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute!

Full list ➡ https://t.co/2fJqeftlCF#WeAreAFCA pic.twitter.com/5YvDKVPivH

— AFCA (@WeAreAFCA) December 7, 2021

He is joined by Michael Banks (Illinois State), Nick Charlton (UConn), Jack Cooper (Rhode Island), Billy Cosh (VMI), Nick Davis (Ottawa U), Malcolm Dixon (Coastal Carolina), Todd Drury (Missouri S&T), Julian Griffin (UTSA), Zach Hanson (Tulsa), Cody Hawkins (UC Davis), Jeremy Hawkins (Eastern Kentucky), Brock Hays (Louisiana Tech), Ryan Jirgl (Oberlin), Jerrod Johnson (Indianapolis Colts), Gregory Jones (Wake Forest), Stephen Jones (El Dorado High School), Randall Joyner (Ole Miss), Jake Landry (Temple), DJ Mangas (LSU), Mickey Mental (Notre Dame College), Brian Metz (Ohio U), Mike Mickens (Notre Dame), Mike Miller (Maryland), CJ Nightingale (Wheaton College), William Peagler (Michigan State), Ryan Smith (Virginia Tech), Will Stein (UTSA), AJ Steward (Oregon State), Tyler Stockton (Ball State), Tyler Sutton (San Diego), Pete Thomas (Louisville), Frederick Walker (UMass), Michael Washington (Coastal Carolina), and Dallas Whitaker (Somerville High School).