Ole Miss expected to hire Arkansas State's Jake Schoonover as special teams coordinator

Ole Miss is expected to hire Arkansas State’s Jake Schoonover as special teams coordinator, sources tell On3.

Under his direction in 2022, Arkansas State ranked second in the Sun Belt in kick return defense and third in kick return average. Before Arkansas State, Schoonover was special teams coordinator at Kansas and helped the Jayhawks rank in the top-11 nationally in kick return defense and punt returns in 2021.

Schoonover, who was also a defensive assistant at Arkansas State, will be the replacement for Marty Biagi, who is leaving Ole Miss to take over as the special teams coordinator at Notre Dame.

Prior to Arkansas State and Kansas, Schoonover worked at Bowling Green and Illinois State. He joined the Bowling Green staff in 2018 as a linebackers coach, then served as the team’s special teams coordinator in 2019 and ’20. In 2020, the Falcons ranked second in the MAC in kickoff returns and fourth in punt returns.

Ole Miss is entering its fourth season with Lane Kiffin as its head coach after finishing last year 8-5.

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