Heading into the 2019-20 Ducks football season, Adrian Jackson was expected to hold down the “Stud” position — a linebacker who can play on the edge as a rusher or drop back into coverage.
But a broken foot in September 2019 cost Jackson a year of football and his starting role on the Ducks defense.
He now finds himself third on the depth chart behind Mase Funa and Andrew Faoliu at Stud and second on the depth chart behind Kayvon Thibodeaux at the “Sam” position.
Jackson was forced to learn how unforgiving football can be. A serious injury can cost athletes their starting role, and possibly more. Injuries are a terrible part of the game, but the game still goes on.
When Jackson went down at the start of last season, Funa, a true-freshman, stepped up in his place and had a productive season.
Funa missed a year of football his senior year of high school after he injured his knee, but he came back in a big way in his first season in Eugene. Jackson now finds himself in a similar situation.
“Adversity hits for a reason, and I feel like it’s going to make me better and make me great,” Jackson said in an interview with SportsChat503.
In order to prepare for the next season, Jackson used his time off to learn more about the Stud position from the starters.
“My injury really set me back, but it also helped me,” Jackson said in the interview. “It got me mentally prepared, and it got me more mature in the game of football. I got to sit back and watch older guys like Lamar Winston last year who’s a great leader.”
A year of learning could be what’s best for Jackson. He spent a large portion of his high school career as a safety and cornerback, but since Jackson gained 25 pounds of muscle since his junior year, he now lines up as a linebacker.
“When you come from playing corner to outside linebacker, it’s different,” Jackson said. “It’s different in what you’re thinking and what movements you’re making. You want to have that mean mentality that you’re going to hit someone every play.”
As Jackson becomes more acquainted with the linebacker position and makes his return to health, he could see his playing time increase drastically.
“He presents such a threat on the edge as a pass rusher so we’ve just been trying to get him back in a rhythm of managing his reps on the edges,” defensive coordinator Andy Avalos said. “He had a huge layoff in football, so we’ve been knocking off the rust and getting him to be consistent at what he’s being asked to do at the position.”
Jackson’s progress can be seen on the field. He’s gotten more playing time in each of the three games, and he even had a key sack in the win against UCLA.
With the Ducks only being halfway into the season, and already facing multiple linebacker injuries, Jackson may need to step up when they need him.
“Whenever my time is called, I’m going to be ready,” he said.
