Florida State University Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Director of Sports Science
- Email:
Jackson Schafer was named Florida State’s director of sports science on March 11, 2022, and enters his fifth season with the Seminoles in 2026.
Schafer, who is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, joined the FSU staff after two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ strength staff. With the Jaguars, he was responsible for the implementation of analysis technologies, including Catapult GPS tracking systems. He also has NFL experience as an intern with the Indianapolis Colts for the 2017 season and the Arizona Cardinals in the summer of 2019.
He was the head trainer for draft preparation at Grossetti Performance, responsible for programming mobility and recovery sessions as well as implementing all strength and conditioning specifically for NFL Combine drills, to prepare athletes for the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent the 2019 season as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Youngstown State, where he worked directly with softball, men’s tennis, women’s bowling and throwers in addition to assisting with football.
Schafer also gained experience working in strength and conditioning at Mississippi State, the University of Indianapolis and Zionsville Community High School. He was an intern at Zionsville, creating in-season and off-season strength and conditioning programs, and at Indianapolis he coached proper progressions for Olympics lifts. With Mississippi State, he assisted in strength and conditioning, nutrition and Catapult while also working with injured student-athletes through modified conditioning programs.
He was a four-year letterwinner and team captain his senior year at Franklin College, helping the Grizzlies win three Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference titles, and earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Franklin in 2017.
