ATHENS – Rich Rodriguez loves to tell the story about Jahmile Addae getting his first career start. It came in 2003 when West Virginia’s No. 1 safety was injured during the week of practice, and the Mountaineers decided they would start Addae in his place.
On the road against No. 1-ranked Miami in a Thursday night game on ESPN.
“I decided I wouldn’t tell him until after we got on the plane because I was afraid he wouldn’t get on otherwise,” Rodriguez said with a laugh Wednesday. “His first game, Miami, national TV, down in Florida, that’s going to be his first start? But he played well. I think he might’ve lined up 25 or 30 yards deep the first couple of snaps. But after that he settled in, and he ended up being a great player for us. Would knock you stiff.”
Georgia believes Addae is going to be a great coach as well. The Bulldogs hired the 38-year-old native of Tampa as defensive backs coach Wednesday.
Pronounced juh-MILE uh-DIE, the 38-year-old Addae replaces Charlton Warren, who left UGA 10 days ago to become defensive coordinator at Indiana. Georgia hired Addae over dozens of candidates, including Glenn Ford (iDareU Academy), Doug Belk (Houston), Travis Fisher (Nebraska), Travaris Robinson (Miami), TJ Rushing (Texas A&M) and Marcus Woodson (FSU).
“We are excited to add Jahmile to our staff and to welcome he and his family to Athens,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart. “Having been an all-conference safety himself while playing for West Virginia, we feel like Jahmile will boost our team both as a former player who understood the game as well as with his knowledge from coaching at a high level over the last decade.”
Addae, a native of Valrico, Fla., near Tampa, is an experienced DBs coach. He has overseen the position the past five years at the Power 5 level. He spent the past two seasons coaching the Mountaineers’ secondary, but he also coached DBs at Minnesota and Arizona.
Georgia fans may remember Addae from when he played with the Mountaineers. He had a hit on Bulldogs running back Danny Ware that caused a fumble and proved to be a critical play in a 38-35 West Virginia win in the Sugar Bowl in the 2005 season, which was played in the Georgia Dome.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
But nobody knows Addae much better than Rodriguez, who signed him as a 17-year-old freshman, hired him as a graduate assistant at West Virginia and brought him along on coaching stops at Michigan and Arizona.
“You could tell when he was playing, ‘if this guy ever gets into coaching he’s going to be great,’” said Rodriguez, who currently is offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Terry Bowden at Louisiana-Monroe. “He’ll be a great addition at Georgia. I think he can learn a lot from Kirby (Smart), who’s one of the best out there, and I know my friend Matt Luke will look after him. I’m really proud of him.”
In addition to a solid on-field coach, Rodriguez said the Bulldogs also are getting a top-tier recruiter.
“All the great recruiters can recruit anywhere, and obviously he has ties to Florida,” Rodriguez said. “But when we were out in Arizona together, we put him in Las Vegas as a new area, and next thing you know he’s getting us some great players from there. You can put him anywhere and he can recruit. With Georgia’s brand and their name, he’ll bring in some of the best players in the country.”
For now at least, Addae’s addition ends Georgia’s ride through the coaching-carousel portion of the offseason. But that usually extends well into February.
Rodriguez also was aware of Smart’s apparent addition of Will Muschamp to the Bulldogs’ support staff. A former South Carolina head coach who is a UGA letterman, Muschamp has been working at the Butts-Mehre football complex for the past week and has purchased a home in Oconee County.
Muschamp is a longtime, close friend of Smart, and his son, Jackson Muschamp, is a redshirt freshman walk-on quarterback for the Bulldogs.
“That’s going to be a great addition,” Rodriguez said. “Will’s a great coach, and he knows ball. That’s going to be pretty neat. And he’s going to be able to help Jahmile out, too.”
Addae will have quite a challenge ahead of him getting the Bulldogs’ secondary ready for the 2021 season. Georgia lost six players who were either full- or part-time starters in the defensive backfield. Free safety Lewis Cine is the only full-time starter returning.
Addae, and his wife, Maryann, have three sons, Agyeman, Ayden and Amaree.
The Bulldogs will open the season Sept. 4 against what’s expected to be a top-5 team in Clemson at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
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