Mario Jeberaeel went from player to coach and made his way to Nicholls State as a graduate assistant coach for the football team.Jeberaeel will help coach the offensive line, along with having a hand in a lot of other aspects of the program.

Nicholls head coach Charlie Stubbs is pleased to welcome Jeberaeel to the coaching staff.

“We are excited to have a young, energetic coach like Mario in our program,” Stubbs said. “He is a great role model for our student athletes, always putting his academics first and working tirelessly in everything that he does.”

Jeberaeel made his way to Nicholls after serving as an assistant coach at Western High School in North Las Vegas where he assisted with the offensive line last season.

Prior to coaching at Western High, Jeberaeel lettered four seasons at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Jeberaeel described the transition from playing to coaching “bittersweet”.

“You still have to approach it the same way,” Jeberaeel said. “You have to be committed to it. You get out of it as much as you put into it. As a coach, it can be bittersweet because you want to play so bad with me being young, but what I want most is the players that I’m working with to be successful.”

At UNLV, Jeberaeel played in 36 games over his four-year career. Jeberaeel played under Nicholls offense line coach Keith Uperesa at the university.

“Mario is very conscientious, and a very hard-working young man,” Uperesa said. “He is fitting in well here, and will be a great asset to our program at Nicholls.”

Jeberaeel has now found himself reunited with his mentor at Nicholls

“Coach Ups (Uperesa) was my offensive line coach,” Jeberaeel said. “I spent four years with him, and a year after, I stuck around and assisted him with whatever he needed. I learned a lot from him and he’s a big influence in my life.”

The Las Vegas native earned a bachelor of degree university studies degree with an emphasis in education and counseling at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Jeberaeel will work towards his masters in teaching at Nicholls while helping coach the Colonels.

“Nicholls is great,” Jeberaeel said. “I love being here. I don’t think there’s any place I’d rather be. When I came here, I was welcomed well, and the people here are nice. You can talk with people for hours.