As Texas Tech gets ready to take on Oregon in the Orange Bowl, it’s worth looking back at one of the Red Raiders who spent his career facing the best the sport had to offer.
Before playoff graphics and national debate shows, before Texas Tech became a program built for January football, there were players who lived in the deep end of college football every Saturday.
Jamaal Jackson was one of them.
By the time Jackson put on a Texas Tech uniform in 2003, college football was overflowing with elite talent. There were no soft landings and no quiet weeks. Defensive backs were tested constantly, and the margin for error was razor thin.
Jackson did not flinch.
At Northwest Mississippi Community College, the Bruce High School star became one of the most productive players in the country at any position. As a sophomore in 2002, he finished with 40 tackles, 15 pass breakups, and five interceptions. The year before, he posted 38 tackles, broke up 18 passes, and led the NJCAA with eight interceptions. Quarterbacks stopped throwing his way, and when they did, the ball usually came back the other direction.
Jackson was a four-star junior college recruit, an NJCAA All-American, and the NJCAA National Defensive Player of the Year.
Mike Leach noticed.
Texas Tech signed Jackson out of Northwest, making him the second player Leach pulled from that program. Jackson arrived in Lubbock knowing exactly what the job required: play a lot of snaps, cover elite receivers, get tested by great quarterbacks, and do it again the next week.
In 2003, Jackson played in 12 games and worked his way into the rotation immediately. He finished the season with 18 tackles, but the numbers only tell part of the story.
Early in the year, he got his first taste of high-level college football against NC State and Philip Rivers, recording a stop and learning firsthand how little time defensive backs have against elite quarterbacks.
A week later, he returned to Mississippi to face Ole Miss. In a shootout against Eli Manning, Jackson made two tackles and held his composure as the game turned into a track meet. Texas Tech escaped with a 49-45 win.
Big 12 play offered no relief.
Jackson faced Brad Smith and Missouri’s option-heavy offense, Darren Sproles and Kansas State, and an Iowa State roster that featured future first-round NFL cornerback Ellis Hobbs. Every Saturday was a different stress test.
As the season went on, Jackson’s role grew. Against Missouri, he finished with three tackles. Against Colorado, he logged a tackle in a Tech win. He broke up a pass against Iowa State and recorded a tackle for loss against Baylor. In the season opener against SMU, he got on the stat sheet right away, settling into Big 12 speed.
His breakout moment came in Austin.
Against Texas in 2003, Jackson turned in his best performance of the season. He finished with seven tackles, six of them solo, and recorded his first career interception off Vince Young. He returned the pick 18 yards, setting up Texas Tech’s first touchdown of the fourth quarter in a game that stayed tight until the end.
Read it.
Break on it.
Take the ball away.
That same season, Jackson shared the field with some of the most accomplished players in college football history. His teammates included B.J. Symons, who set the NCAA single-season passing yards record in 2003, and Wes Welker, one of the most productive slot receivers the college game has ever seen.
The opponents were just as loaded.
Kansas State featured Darren Sproles and elite cover corner Terrence Newman. Texas rolled out Vince Young, Cedric Benson, Michael Huff, and Roy Williams. Oklahoma brought Heisman Trophy winner Jason White, Adrian Peterson, and Biletnikoff Award winner Mark Clayton. Later, in bowl season, Jackson faced Aaron Rodgers with a freshman Marshawn Lynch sharing the California backfield.
There was no hiding anywhere.
Jackson capped the 2003 season with an assisted tackle in the Houston Bowl win over Navy, helping Texas Tech close the year with a 38-14 victory.
By 2004, Jackson was no longer adjusting. He was part of the backbone.
That season included one of the most lopsided wins in program history, a 70-10 demolition of Nebraska. While the offense stole the headlines, Jackson had an interception to help the defense make sure Nebraska never found momentum.
Later that year, Jackson and the Red Raiders faced No. 4 California in the Holiday Bowl. Rodgers was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country. Texas Tech challenged routes, disrupted timing, and played aggressively on defense. The result was a 45-31 upset that remains one of the signature wins of the Mike Leach era.
Jackson finished his Texas Tech career with numbers that reflected his role rather than his volume. He lined up against Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Brad Smith, Vince Young, Jason White, and Aaron Rodgers in a system that never asked defenses to hide.
When his playing days ended, Jackson stayed connected to the game.
He coached at Coffeeville, Pontotoc, and Bruce, impacting athletes across multiple sports. Along the way, he won state championships in track and powerlifting and helped develop future college players, including Lee Chambers (Coffeeville to Miami), Antavious Moody (Coffeeville to Holmes CC), and Cole Smith (Pontotoc to LSU and Mississippi State).
In 2009, Jackson landed his first head coaching job was at Coffeeville High School, where he quickly made an impact. His inaugural win came in a 32-27 upset over Calhoun City, a powerhouse in the state’s small-school football scene.
He followed that landmark victory with a 34-25 win over county rival Water Valley, breaking a five-game losing streak. It was the Pirates’ second win over the Blue Devils since 1988.
In six seasons, Jackson compiled a 42-33 record and led Coffeeville to two district championships. The 2014 season was historic: 595 points scored, 12 wins, and a 68-0 victory over Vardaman, the largest margin of victory in school history. The Pirates advanced to the Class 1A North State Championship game before falling to St. Aloysius.
Jackson’s story isn’t about flash.
It’s about being ready when your number is called.
It’s about surviving the toughest matchups in college football.
It’s about taking those lessons back home and passing them on.
Just like he always did.
Watch Jackson and the Bruce Trojans take on the Baldwyn Bearcats back in 1998. Please like the video and subscribe to help support the GoreSports YouTube channel.
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