GAINESVILLE, Fla. — He has grown up since his days running around at practice when his father was head coach of the Gators.
Jackson Muschamp was in elementary school in 2011 when
Will Muschamp arrived from Texas to take over the Gators. The Muschamps quickly became fixtures around town. A place Will had called home once before when his father was headmaster at Oak Hall in the 1980s. And Jackson, center in tweet below, became a Gators fan.
More than a decade later, Jackson Muschamp is a redshirt sophomore quarterback for the Bulldogs, listed on the depth chart behind four others, including former walk-on-turned-starter
Stetson Bennett. He won't be a factor on Saturday when the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs face the Gators in Jacksonville.
Following his father's dismissal at UF in 2014, the Muschamps spent a year at Auburn and then five seasons at South Carolina. While his father served as head coach of the Gamecocks, Jackson developed into a talented quarterback at The Hammond School.
Bulldogs quarterback Jackson Muschamp used to spend game days at The Swamp. (Photo: Courtesy of Georgia Athletics)
When the Muschamps took a recruiting visit to Colorado State, where former UF offensive coordinator
Steve Addazio was then head coach, Jackson committed. However, he had a change of heart when the family returned home and eventually signed as a preferred walk-on at Georgia, his father's alma mater.
"Coach Smart's known Jackson since he was born," Will Muschamp said at the time. "So, obviously, there's a relationship there. I felt like it was a good fit for him. It's what he wanted to do."
Will Muschamp told reporters how he looked forward to competing against his son and the Bulldogs as SEC East rivals. But after the 2020 season, South Carolina made a coaching change, and Will, one of the game's most respected defensive minds, was out of work.
Of course, not for long. Bulldogs coach
Kirby Smart offered a position soon afterward.
Muschamp joined Georgia as a defensive analyst in early 2021 and was promoted to an on-field assistant during the season. Muschamp is now Georgia's co-defensive coordinator and set to face the Gators for the sixth time as a member of the Bulldogs. He went 0-4 against Florida during his playing career from 1991-94 but finally broke through with a victory in Georgia's 34-7 win a season ago.
Meanwhile, Muschamp's oldest son still hangs out with his dad at practice.
