Three Things to Know About New Vols RB Coach Jerry Mack

Three Things to Know About New Vols RB Coach Jerry Mack

Former Rice offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Jerry Mack will serve as Josh Heupel's new running backs coach. Mack, a successful play-caller and head coach at a lower level, is a sneaky good hire for Heupel. Take a look at what he brings to the Rocky Top below.

Head Coaching Experience

Heupel has already served as a head coach at UCF, but he is jumping to the super-competitive SEC. Assembling a staff of like minds with valuable experience and trust around him will be critical. Mack brings successful head coaching experience with him to Rocky Top. As the head coach at North Carolina Central, Mack won three straight conference titles from 2014-2016. He led the Eagles to the Celebration Bowl, a postseason college football bowl game, first played in the 2015 season, contested between the champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Mack left North Carolina Central with a 31-15 record before taking the Rice offensive coordinator job. Over half of his losses as a head coach came to Division 1 programs.

In-State Ties

Mack is native of Memphis, and he graduated from perennial powerhouse Whitehaven. The home of current multiple Vols, including Bryson Eason, Tamarion McDonald, and Martavius French. Mack has already started recruiting his old stomping grounds now that he is at Tennessee. He previously served as receivers coach at the University of Memphis in 2011. Memphis, a hotbed of talent that schools from across the country have annually raided, will be a top priority for Josh Heupel's staff in locking down the state of Tennessee. The area produces some of the Volunteer State's best talent and having Mack on Staff will give Tennessee an added advantage.

Strong Recruiting Ties

As mentioned, Mack has already had at least a couple of conversations with Memphis-area prospects, but his recruiting background does not stop there. As Mack has proven repeatedly, he is a great developer of talent; he has soared the coaching ranks by being successful at various stops across the south. Mack's ties to North Carolina are obvious from the mention of his multi-year stop at North Carolina Central as a head coach. He has spent time in Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and most recently, Texas. You will be hard-pressed to find anyone with those same ties on Tennessee's offensive staff.

Mack will inherit a talented running back room consisting of Tiyon Evans, Jabari Small, Tee Hodge, Jaylen Wright, Len'Neth Whitehead, and Dee Beckwith.