A 'no-brainer to come to Texas': NFL assistant Chris Jackson will now tutor UT's receivers

Former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receivers coach Chris Jackson has been added to Texas' staff to coach the Longhorns' receivers and serve as the passing game coordinator, UT announced Tuesday night.

Jackson, 47, replaces Brennan Marion, who left to become UNLV's offensive coordinator.

This season, the Jaguars reached the second round of the NFL playoffs, and with Jackson mentoring the receivers, Christian Kirk's 84 catches and Austin native Zay Jones' 82 were top-10 totals in Jaguars history.

Jackson worked in various roles with the Chicago Bears from 2018 to 2021 and was that team's assistant receivers coach for two years. He played at Orange Coast College and Washington State.

"We’re fired up that Chris Jackson is a Longhorn,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said in a news release. "He’s such a talented coach with a ton of football and life experience that we’ll benefit from having on our staff. Chris is a passionate and attention-to-detail guy who took a unique path to coaching, but is as good as they get when it comes to developing and preparing receivers.

"He’s a very well-respected coach with great work ethic who is a student of the game, and he’s a proven leader who not only helps his players improve on the field, but also builds strong relationships with them, too."

Jackson inherits a talented wide receivers room at Texas. Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington combined for 110 catches, 1,412 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Incoming transfer Adonai Mitchell caught a touchdown pass for Georgia in each of the Bulldogs' last two national championship games. Texas has signed four four-star receiving prospects in the 2022 and 2023 recruiting cycles, and former Wyoming standout Isaiah Neyor is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him for the 2022 season.

More:What we know about Jahmal Fenner, the former LBJ football coach now at Texas

As a team, Texas averaged 241.4 passing yards per game in 2022. That was No. 56 nationally.

"Coach Sarkisian has always been phenomenal and a mastermind of offense. Being a wide receiver myself, I’m looking to really just lock all the way into his thought processes for why he does things and how he does things, so I can just be an extension of him," Jackson said in a statement.

"He’s had success not only at the college level, but also in the NFL, so I just want to embrace all of it and add whatever I can in regards to my experience and thought process," Jackson added. "But to me, it was a no-brainer to come to Texas and work under the leadership of Sark and with his great staff. He’s done it at the collegiate level and the NFL level, and I know he’s turning the culture there. I just want to be a part of that."

Orange-White game set

Texas' Orange-White spring game will kick off at 1 p.m. April 15 at Royal-Memorial Stadium, the school announced. Admission will be free, and Bevo Boulevard will be in full fall Saturday game mode.

Texas baseball team picked fourth

The Texas baseball team, which finished fifth in the Big 12 last year, was picked fourth this season in a vote of the conference coaches.

The Longhorns were behind preseason favorite TCU, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. Last season, the top six teams in the final standings were separated by just two games.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas adds NFL assistant Chris Jackson to football coaching staff