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Yusuf Shakir led his alma mater Lincoln High to a state football championship in 2010 and state runner-up finish in 2012.
Yusuf Shakir figures he’s in an ideal position as a football operations assistant at the University of Florida.
‘I am getting so much experience coaching by not coaching,” Shakir said.
“I am enjoying my time learning and progressing. I miss coaching. … but sometimes in life, life takes you different ways.”
Shakir, 47, a former Lincoln High player who as a head coach led his alma mater to the Class 4A state title in 2010 and also coached at Manatee and Gibbs High, joined UF coach Billy Napier’s staff in 2022.
Shakir was one of five former FHSAA head coaches Napier hired he said in order to have “a pulse for that landscape.”
Yusuf Shakir a familiar face to Tallahassee football fans
Big Bend football fans familiar with Shakir probably noticed him shadowing Napier on the Gators’ sideline in UF’s victory over Florida State last November at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Shakir charts games and is available to immediately answer Napier’s questions that might involve stats, penalties and trends.
“You have to be prepared and consistent on facts, not feelings,” Shakir said.
“It has been a great experience for me in processing the game.”
Shakir’s love for the game started as a youth in Frenchtown on Copeland Street, where he said he learned about “competition and competitiveness.”
He was raised on FAMU and FSU football, and was an All-American linebacker and at Lincoln under coach David Wilson.
Following a college career at Wisconsin and Western Illinois, Shakir turned to coaching.
He spent six seasons as a Lincoln assistant coach, was hired as head coach at St. Petersburg’s Gibbs High School and then returned to Lincoln two years later as its head coach.
Lincoln’s Yusuf Shakir left…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/yusuf-shakirs-coaching-journey-football-132241567.html
Author : Tallahassee Democrat
Publish date : 2025-01-25 13:22:00
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