Rich Rodriguez could tell Jahmile Addae had coaching chops when he was a freshman at West Virginia in 2001. Addae possessed a particular ability to process football. He also had the perfect personality for coaching.
“He always wanted to know about the game,” said Arizona running backs coach Calvin Magee, who recruited Addae to West Virginia. “He always studied the game. He always asked the right questions.”
Fifteen years later, Addae is coaching alongside Rodriguez and Magee at the UA. Addae is in his first season as the Wildcats’ safeties coach. Rodriguez promoted him from within the program in December, making Addae the first building block in a reconstructed defensive coaching staff.
“Right away I thought he’d be a really good coach,” Rodriguez said, “and he’s proven to be that.”
Addae spent three seasons at the UA as a football analyst. His duties included breaking down film. He longed to coach on the field, as he had at previous stops, but couldn’t — until Rodriguez gave Addae the opportunity he patiently had awaited.
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“This is where I wanted to be,” Addae said. “I wanted to coach with this staff. I have played under this staff. It was a dream of mine.
“Anything (else) that came along was flattering, but never did I think that anything was more important than coaching under coach Rodriguez.”
Addae’s allegiance to Rodriguez goes way back.
“Coach Rod came into my high school, sat down, put his legs up on the table and said we want to offer you a scholarship,” said Addae, who played at Riverview High in Tampa, Florida. “At that point I couldn’t even get South Florida to offer me, and they were in the backyard. I obliged, took the offer.”
Addae primarily played running back in high school, in a Wing-T offense. Rodriguez recruited him as a defensive back and envisioned him as a safety.
Rodriguez’s instincts were right. Addae became a four-year starter and All-conference performer for the Mountaineers.
“I didn’t know if he could backpedal,” Rodriguez said. “But he was a tough guy. He played in a good program. He just had ‘it.’ ”
Despite his standout career at West Virginia and invites to the Senior Bowl and scouting combine, Addae did not get drafted. He signed with his hometown Buccaneers, got cut, then joined the Indianapolis Colts.
During training camp, Addae collapsed on the field. It was determined that he had a heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which forced him to retire. Addae spent some time teaching at Riverview but quickly realized — as Rodriguez had — that coaching was his calling.
“I’ve never been a desk guy,” Addae said. “I knew that this was something I wanted to do since Day One.”
Addae served as a graduate assistant under Rodriguez at West Virginia and at Michigan. Addae spent two seasons as the running backs coach at Cincinnati before rejoining Rodriguez’s staff in 2013.
In all, it took Addae almost 10 years to fulfill his dream of becoming a full-time coach with the staff that gave him his start.
“They call it grunt work,” Addae said, “but if you like what you’re doing, it isn’t a grind.”
