ATHENS – Kirby Smart had many boxes to check in his search for a new defense technician in what could be the most important signing this off season.
Jahmile Addae, like Smart, a former student of all the security conferences and honor roll, seems to have all the attributes that the Georgia coach could be looking for to fill the position.
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Addae was an All-Big East artist with several double-digit tackle games
Addae is considered a great communicator and arrives at the Bulldogs from a West Virginia defensive system that operates with the same mentality that the intelligent and defensive coordinator Dan Lanning teaches in Georgia.
The text is a little different, but the feeling is the same.
“In defense, we call it a-11, which means that every guy in the 11 does his job,” Addae said in an interview predicting the Mountaineers’ 24-21 victory at the Liberty Bowl over the Army.
“We asked them to do this on and off the field, and these things, we would like to think, correspond and translate.”
Smart is in the midst of a major reconstruction in Georgia’s football secondary, with nine stock market players who have left the Bulldogs’ defensive backfield since the end of the 2019 season, including four transfers.
Safety Lewis Cine is the sole holder of the 2020 season full time, although safety Christoper Smith started the second half of the season alongside him after Richard LeCounte was sidelined due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on Halloween Night .
The fact that Addae did this on the field at a high level as a player gives him immediate credibility with Smart and the players.
In fact, it was Addae delivering a breathtaking and shocking blow to former UGA Darry Ware at the 2006 Sugar Bowl, helping to protect a 14-0 lead in West Virginia after Bulldogs, led by DJ Shockley, drove on Red Zone.
New #UGA defenders coach Jahmile Addae in 2006 @SugarBowlNola– when he faced (and forced a fumble) vs. UGA … pic.twitter.com/bFAcl9rM3i
– Patrick Garbin (@patrickgarbin) January 27, 2021
Addae also gave some tips on the NFL through his brother, 8-year-old San Diego Chargers veteran, Jahleel Addae.
But it is Jahmile Addae’s ability to teach and develop players that many believe separates him, as he is able to communicate concisely with players.
“Slow feet, don’t eat,” said Addae in a post on social media.
“SLOW FEET 🦶 DO NOT EAT”
💙💛 #HAILWV #TrustTheClimb #My loves pic.twitter.com/3hiLJ5ONsj– Jahmile Addae (@Coach_Addae) March 31, 2020
In summarizing how to play the Army option, Addae spoke eloquently in discussing the necessary mindset.
“It’s all about the passive aggressiveness of it all,” he said. “I think you play passively until you can diagnose where the ball is, and that’s when the aggressive piece comes in, and it’s time to make a move
“Seeing the right things and reacting aggressively as soon as you are diagnosed.”
No team did better against the pass than West Virginia last season.
The Mountaineers led the country in allowed passing yards (159.6) and ranked 24th in the country in defense of passing efficiency in 2020. Georgia, in turn, was 88th in allowed passing yards and 56th in defense pass efficiency.
Addae will need to help Bulldogs get some transfers and first-rate recruits quickly, as early ex-UGA cornerbacks Eric Stokes, DJ Daniel and Tyson Campbell are all going to the NFL.
During his two years of temporary training under Butch Jones in Cincinnati, Addae was recognized as one of the Big East Conference’s top 10 recruiters.
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