The Gators officially hired Ja'Juan Seider as an assistant coach on Friday. Seider has spent the past four seasons at West Virginia. (Photo: Courtesy of West Virginia University Athletics).
Seider Deeply Rooted in Florida
Friday, February 3, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter
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In high school, Seider often handed off to former Gators running back Fred Taylor.
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ja'Juan Seider left his native Florida after starring at Glades Central High in Belle Glade, where he often handed the ball to former Gators running back Fred Taylor, to play quarterback at West Virginia.
"We really don't throw the ball much, but it gives us another dimension,'' then-Glades Central coach Rick Casko told the Palm Beach Post in 1993. "He's a real competitor. The better the competition, the better he is. He's going to be very good when it's all over."
Seeking more playing time than he got with the Mountaineers as a backup to future NFL quarterback Marc Bulger, Seider returned to Florida for his final year of college eligibility and had an outstanding season at Florida A&M under Rattlers coach Billy Joe. Seider was so good he won the Jake Gaither Award, which at the time was the equivalent of the Heisman for historically black colleges and universities.
A trend began to develop for the 38-year Seider.
Once he finished at FAMU, he returned to West Virginia to earn his undergraduate degree. And following a brief stint in professional football with San Diego (sixth-round pick in 2000) and the B.C. Lions of the CFL, he moved back to Florida to start his coaching career, serving as running backs coach at his alma mater for two seasons before stops at Palm Beach Lakes and Lake Worth high schools.
Ja'Juan Seider has been lauded for his ability to recruit and develop players in his coaching career. (Photo: Brent Kepner/WVU Athletics)
Next, it was back to West Virginia, where Seider served as a graduate assistant for two years. Seider next spent three seasons as an assistant at Marshall for former UF assistant Doc Holliday. Once again, in 2013 Seider returned to West Virginia to serve as running backs coach and ace recruiter, especially in his home state.
The move was big news in the mountains that stretch from Charleston to Morgantown.
"Seider was classy, always upbeat, and his roots in Florida seemed to grow deeper by the year,'' Marshall beat writer Doug Smock wrote when Seider moved from Marshall to West Virginia. "As a position coach, he typically had the No. 4 running back as prepared as the No. 1 – and had to prove it a few times."
You see where this is going next?
Gators head coach Jim McElwain announced earlier today that he has hired Seider as an assistant coach. Seider's specific role remains to be determined but you can bet Seider will spend some quality time back home in South Florida on the recruiting trail.
"A lot is talked about his ability to recruit, but he is more than that – he is a great coach as well,'' McElwain said. "Recruiting is about relationships and he does a great job of connecting and relating to players not only while he is recruiting them, but while they play for him and well after their playing days are over."
West Virginia beat reporter Mike Casazza, who writes for the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail, wrote Thursday about Seider's ability to connect to Florida recruits.
"He has been a critical part of WVU recruiting and especially in South Florida, a talent vault to which the Mountaineers gained access in the 1980s under former coach Don Nehlen, and his assistant, current Marshall coach Doc Holliday." Casazza wrote.
Seider was named Conference USA's recruiter of the year in 2012 at Marshall and was a key part of Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen's staff the past four seasons. Seider's name surfaced as a possible McElwain hire previously. However, his son, Jaden, a high school teammate of Holgorsen's son in Morgantown, was diagnosed with cancer (lymphoma) in January 2015.
Seider and his wife, Brandi, buckled down as Jaden underwent treatment. Seider's roots in athletics run deep.
His father, Jay, coached track at Glades Central and his younger brother Ja'HShaun Seider, is currently a redshirt freshman offensive lineman for the Mountaineers.
This return trip home is different from the others for Seider.
"I've always had an affinity for this university and am honored to have the opportunity to join the Florida Gators family,'' he said.
