Jackson State fills void on coaching staff with alum

JSU’S head football coach, Rick Comegy indicated a few weeks ago that he would hire someone he was already familiar with to be his next wide receivers coach. He not only did just that, he also may have brought a prodigal son home. Former Jackson State quarterback Derrick McCall and Mobile, Ala native, was named the Tigers new receivers coach.

He takes over those duties from Jerry Mack, who left to take the wide receivers coaching position at Central Arkansas State University several weeks ago.

McCall, a former JSU quarterback from 1979-82 returns to his alma mater after a two-year stint as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. McCall, was instrumental in helping to lead the 8-4 SU Bears to a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assoc-iation (CIAA) championship and a first time NCAA Division II playoff appearance in 2007.

Darrell Asberry, the head coach, and a former Jackson State (1991-94) quarterback who holds the fifth all-time total offense record at JSU, had mixed emotions concerning McCall’s move.

“We had a great bond and a great working relationship and he certainly will be a tremendous loss to our program,” Asberry said in a statement. But I’m glad he has an opportunity to go back to his roots and to be able to make a contribution. I wish him the best in his new post.”

Prior to the Shaw University assignment, McCall was the receivers coach for Comegy’s Tuskegee University’s championship teams from 2002-05. He also coached on the semi-pro level for several years during the late 80s and was the offensive coordinator for the three-time Alabama 5-A State champs, Blount High Leopards of Mobile, Alabama from 1997-2000. He coached with another JSU great at Blount High School by the name of Robert Brazile.

Coach Comegy had this to say about his newest assistant, “Coach McCall will be an excellent asset to our coaching staff. He’s a great coach and a die hard J-State Tiger.”

McCall, who played on two JSU SWAC championship and NCAA I-AA play-off teams during his collegiate career, was primarily a back-up to All-SWAC sensation Keith Taylor until his senior season in 1982 when he and John McKenzie alternated at the quarterback position. His 80-yard touchdown pass to Chris Burkett against Mississippi Valley in 1982 is the 10th longest career completion in JSU football history. McCall, who played under W. C. Gorden during his tenure at JSU, was a team leader. He was one of the best at running the option offense that JSU ran at the time.

“He (McCall) was always a student of the game. He knew the ends and outs of the game of football and was like player-coach to the younger guys on the team,” Gorden pointed out.

McCall said in a JSU press release that he’s very grateful to be back at his alma mater as a coach. “This is a chance to give something back and to help bridge the great tradition I experienced then into the new era we are in now. It means so much to come back and help these athletes to be the best on and off the field and to make sure they get a degree and become good productive citizens.”

Shaw was just nine points shy of a 10-2 season in 2007 and was third in the CIAA in total offense, averaging 302 yards a game.

McCall is also the only Jacksonian on Comegy’s full-time coaching staff, with the exception of James “Toe” Hartfield, who has been the part-time kicking game coach at JSU for 28 years.

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