Former Hokie Kyshoen Jarrett lands first full-time coaching role with Redskins

Kyshoen Jarrett played four years for the Virginia Tech Hokies from 2011-14, becoming a starter in the secondary during his sophomore year. Jarrett would go on to be a three-year starter for Bud Foster’s vaunted defense. A former All-ACC performer, Jarrett ended up being a sixth-round pick of the Washington Redskins in the 2015 NFL Draft.

While the odds appeared to be a bit long for Jarrett to make an immediate impact for the Redskins, he had other ideas. Much like his time in Blacksburg, Jarrett made an immediate impact on special teams. In the Redskins’ run to the NFC East title back in 2015, Jarrett would actually become an integral part of Washington’s secondary. He played the majority of snaps on defense while also still contributing on special teams.

Then, in a season-ending win at Dallas, Jarrett’s life would change forever. Known for his physical style of play, Jarrett met Dallas running back Darren McFadden in the hole and the two made helmet-to-helmet contact and Jarrett injured his spinal cord, which ended his rookie campaign.

As the calendar turned to 2016, things were quiet on the Jarrett front. Then, on the eve of training camp in 2016, the Redskins released Jarrett and it was known his playing career was likely over. Jarrett struggled to regain strength in his arm in the following seasons so he decided to forge a new career path as a coach.

In 2018, the Redskins had Jarrett spend the year as a coaching intern under head coach Jay Gruden and defensive backs coach Torrian Gray—the former Hokie. Gray departed Washington after two seasons and the Redskins hired veteran coach Ray Horton to succeed him.

As for Jarrett, the team announced on Tuesday that Jarrett was being hired as a full-time defensive quality control coach for the 2019 season. Gruden was effusive in his praise for the former Hokie after the team announced his new position, per the team’s official site.

“Kyshoen was a valuable asset to our coaching staff last season,” said Gruden. “He is a quality coach and a quality person and I have complete trust in him succeeding in this new role.”

Jarrett was always a talented player for the Hokies. He was also a leader who worked hard off the field and that type of preparation showed up on game day. That dedication served him well with the Redskins and now begins what could be a terrific coaching career.

While we were all sad Jarrett’s NFL career was prematurely cut short, it’s nice to see Jarrett’s faith and hard work paying off in another endeavor. We here at Gobbler Country and all of Hokie Nation want to Kyshoen Jarrett the best of luck in his coaching career.