Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Raritan High product from Hazlet, N.J., packs quite a wallop, but it's his technical skills that have improved dramati- cally while under the spotlight. Notre Dame's front seven deservingly gets most of the credit for shut- ting down oppos- ing offenses, but Jackson can see how well the in- experienced sec- ondary has jelled and developed in the first half of the sea- son, helping boost the Fighting Irish to No. 22 in the nation in pass defense (183.2 yards al- lowed per game). The commendation more ball guys and some people are more physi- cal guys." At 6-0, 185 pounds, the from Kelly early on only helped bolster Jackson's confidence. "It was important like if I'm going to come out and put all my effort into something, I'm go- ing to obviously want to [get the most out of it]." Mostly lining up at the thing on both sides." Spending ampl e boundary corner, Jack- son and talkative fresh- man KeiVarae Russell, who patrols the field side, have been able to expand their knowledge WANT TO [GET THE MOST OUT OF IT]." JACKSON FEEL LIKE IF I'M GOING TO COME OUT AND PUT ALL MY EFFORT INTO SOME- THING, I'M GOING TO OBVIOUSLY "I'M JUST HIGHLY COMPETITIVE. I WORK HARD AT EVERYTHING I DO. I enough to flip-flop in certain situations. The added responsibility hasn't appeared to faze either one of them. "I think it helps us to hear," he admitted. "It helped me realize that I was going in the right direction. With all the praise, there were still the critiques in the film room. I knew I had plenty to clean up. "I'm just highly com- petitive. I work hard at everything I do. I feel both get a better under- standing for the entire back half instead of just one quarter," Jackson said. "It's great; it's bet- ter for you to learn both positions, so I'm kind of happy that we're doing that. "I played the majority of boundary last year be- sides dime packages and what not. I would prefer boundary, but it doesn't really make a difference; it's kind of the same time with safeties Zeke Motta, a senior, and Mat- thias Farley, a sopho- more who stepped into the starting lineup after fifth-year senior Jamo- ris Slaughter was lost for the year with a knee injury in the Michigan State game Sept. 15, has only strength- ened the group's bond. "We hang out from each other of how we would guard some- thing," Jackson said. "That kind of helps us build chemistry and know what each other is going to do. It benefits us on the field." The play by team- off the field all the t ime, we watch film to- gether; we kind of get a sense mates in front of him has certainly aided Jackson's growth, but he's proud of what he's accom- plished up to this point. "I think I've done a pretty good job so far," he said. "Obviously there is plenty of room for improvement, plenty of things to fix up, but I'm just going to keep working." ✦