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OCTOBER 2021 19 BY JEFF WHITE T o say Nick Jackson was destined to attend his father's alma mater, the University of Virginia, would not be much of a stretch. For almost as long as Jackson can re- member, UVA, including its football program, has been a presence in his life. "My dad was always talking about Vir- ginia, always watching Virginia games, and every time a Virginia Cavalier in the NFL made a play, he'd always go, 'Wahoowa!'" Jackson recalled with a smile. Doug Jackson graduated from the Uni- versity in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in English. His son, after graduating from The Lovett School in his hometown of Atlanta, enrolled at UVA in 2019, and he's thriving as a Cavalier. He wasn't worried about mak- ing the transition to a large university. "I just feel like this is a bigger Lovett," Jackson said with a smile. In head coach Bronco Mendenhall's foot- ball program, the 6-foot-1, 240-pound Jack- son is one of the Cavaliers' captains, and he's a two-year starter at inside linebacker. Off the field, he's in his first semester in the prestigious McIntire School of Commerce. "It's been good," Jackson said of his UVA experience. "Everybody you meet on Grounds has got their own story, and it's interesting learning about everyone. I feel like I've connected with great people, and I wouldn't trade those relationships for the world." He wears jersey No. 6 on the football field and can usually be found in the middle of the action when the Wahoos are on de- fense. Jackson appeared in all 14 games, with two starts, as a first-year in 2019, when Virginia won the ACC's Coastal Division for the first time, and then moved into a lead- ing role last year. In 2020, Jackson led the 5-5 Hoos with 105 tackles — only one ACC player averaged more stops per game — and was named to the all-conference third team. He's piling up stops again this season. "Nick is really productive," Mendenhall said. "Both he and [safety] Joey Blount, they tackle, and they tackle, and they tackle, and they tackle." Jackson "has a nose for the ball," line- backers coach Kelly Poppinga added, "and he just knows where to find it and knows how to get guys down." That's not enough for Jackson. Com- ing into the season, he said: "I definitely wanted to get better in every area. I think for me personally, I wanted to focus on my pass drops in zone coverage, and then I wanted to get my hands better in the run defense." Asked to assess his performance so far this season, Jackson said he's not satis- fied. After opening with one-sided wins over William & Mary and Illinois, UVA suffered 20-point losses to ACC rivals North Carolina and Wake Forest, before holding on for a 30-28 victory at Miami during a Thursday night contest featured on ESPN. "Until we're winning, I don't think anybody can be really happy," Jackson said. "That's kind of what I'm focusing on: how the team is performing and whether the team wins or loses." At Lovett, Jackson starred as a linebacker and wide receiver, and he received scholar- ship offers from numerous schools, includ- ing Northwestern, Duke, Vanderbilt, Wiscon- sin, Kentucky, Louisville, Boston College, Texas A&M and Wake Forest. MIDDLE MIDDLE MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT Inside Linebacker Nick Jackson Has Continued To Rack Up Tackles For The Cavaliers' Defense This Season Jackson finished sixth nationally and second in the ACC with 105 tackles last fall as a second- year. (Photo by Pete Emerson/courtesy UVA)