Veteran collegiate assistant Cornell Jackson enters his first season at Kansas State as the linebackers coach on head coach Ron Prince's staff. Jackson, a 20-year coaching veteran at the collegiate level with Kansas roots, heads to Manhattan with nearly 10 years of experience working with linebackers while spending the 2007 season as an assistant at Baylor.

Jackson, who began his coaching career 21 years ago in the state of Kansas, spent the 2007 season as the running backs coach for the Bears, while previously serving two seasons as the running backs coach at New Mexico.

In 2006, Jackson coached first-team All-Mountain West Conference tailback Rodney Ferguson, who rushed for 1,132 yards in leading the Lobos to a New Mexico Bowl appearance. A year earlier, Jackson pupil DonTrell Moore earned 2005 Mountain West Conference offensive player of the year honors after becoming just the sixth player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards four times in a career.

Prior to his second coaching stint at New Mexico, Jackson spent three seasons (2002-04) at the University of Washington. Jackson coached the Husky safeties in 2003 after instructing the UW inside linebackers during his first season in Seattle. He helped tutor Marquis Cooper, who led the team in tackles in 2002-03 and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He coached the Husky running backs in 2004 and had added duties as UW's recruiting coordinator.

Before joining the Husky staff, Jackson worked at the University of Houston for two seasons (2000-01) as the Cougars' linebackers coach. He mentored 2001 Conference USA's co-defensive player of the year in Wayne Rogers.

Prior to his Houston tenure, he tutored running backs at Arizona State from 1996-99, instructing Sun Devil standouts J.R. Redmond, Terry Battle, Jeff Paulk, Terrell Smith, Michael Martin, Delvon Flowers and Bruce Perkins. Five of those players were selected in the NFL Draft while Redmond and Battle earned All-Pac-10 honors.

Jackson began his coaching career as running backs coach at Butler County (Kan.) Community College in 1987 before moving on to Central Missouri State as a graduate assistant coach from 1988-89. From 1990-91, Jackson worked as the linebackers coach at Utah State and then coached the same position at Pacific from 1992-94. He then spent the 1995 campaign as outside linebackers coach at New Mexico before going to Arizona State.

Jackson has taken advantage of NFL internship programs to work for several of the league's teams during their off-season. He was an intern coach for linebackers for the Seattle Seahawks in 1993, worked with the St. Louis Rams' running backs in 1999 and was an intern coach for the Denver Broncos' running backs in 2001. In the summer of 2004, Jackson served as an intern with the San Diego Chargers coaching staff, working with linebackers.

The 1986 Sterling (Kan.) College graduate was a two-time all-conference defensive back (1982 and 1983) at Hinds Junior College in Raymond, Miss. The Jackson, Miss., native is married to the former Lorri Raser.