Billy Napier has hired Cheston Blackshear as a quality control coach who will work with the offensive line.
The Jacksonville native played in 41 games for the Gators from 1995-99. He was a Second Team All-SEC selection by both the coaches and the media in 1999, and he was a member of the 1996 national championship team.
He played guard for the Orlando Rage of the XFL in 2000-01 and helped them lead the league in rushing.
Blackshear returned to UF to begin his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Ron Zook from 2002-04. He held the same position at Illinois in 2005.
He secured his first full-time coaching position at Columbia in 2006. He coached the Lions’ tight ends and offensive tackles for three seasons.
He held the same position at New Mexico from 2009-12 and helped Lucas Reed earn Freshman All-American honors in 2009. He also helped offensive tackle Byron Bell enjoy an eight-year career in the NFL.
Blackshear coached the tight ends at Georgetown in 2013 and the offensive tackles and tight ends at Nevada from 2014-17.
He spent the last four seasons coaching the offensive tackles and tight ends at Dartmouth. He developed Jake Guidone into one of the best blocking tight ends in the Ivy League in 2019, as he earned honorable mention all-conference honors despite not catching a pass.
In 2021, tight ends J.J. Jones and Robbie Mangas were both named to all-conference teams.
Additionally, he has participated in the Bill Walsh Intern Program and worked with the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins in training camp.
Blackshear will assist offensive line coaches Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton as they try to turn around the Gators’ offensive line after a rough few years.