This past offseason was significant for senior defensive lineman Cam Jackson, who aimed to lose weight ahead of his final year of college football. Jackson weighed in at 374 pounds in 2023 but was listed at 342 pounds at the start of the 2024 season and is continuing to ‘make weight’, according to Billy Napier.
“Just changing my diet, eating right, coming in here getting extra film when I can,” Jackson said. “Getting extra work in the weight room, just things that I can do to help the team and also help my game improve.”
Jackson’s commitment to improvement both on and off the field is showing up on the football field. Through six games in 2024, Jackson is creating more pressure from the interior and tackling at a higher rate compared to last season. Jackson already has more tackles for loss (one) and more pressures (3) than he did in the 2023 season. He’s also on pace to record 44 tackles compared to 32 last season. Jackson’s win rate on true pass sets has spiked from 6.9 to 8.3% and he’s cut his missed tackle rate by more than half, missing just one tackle through six games, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I feel like I improved getting back to the quarterback more, getting pressure, getting in the quarterback’s face. Just being explosive off the ball way more than last year,” Jackson said.
Jackson has built a great relationship with new defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, who helped the Louisiana native with his explosiveness and technique.
“He helped me, when he first got here he helped me with just coming off the ball, being explosive, staying low, getting my footwork right. Making sure I don’t trip over myself,” Jackson said on Chatman’s impact. “I feel like that helped me a lot. You barely see me hit the ground now. Only time I’m hitting the ground now is if I’m getting a tackle. He helped me improve a lot.”
Not only is Jackson performing better on the field, but he’s been able to play more snaps thanks to his improved conditioning. Jackson is coming off 44 snaps vs Tennessee, which is the most he’s recorded in a Gator uniform. The defensive tackle is on pace for 386 snaps in the regular season after logging just 281 in 11 games a year ago.
“He’s trending up,” Napier said on Jackson. “It’s a big year for Cam. He came back for a reason. He’s trying to obviously make an impact on our team and help our team have success but he’s also trying to increase his value. He has a different level of self-discipline. He has made his weight every Friday for weeks. I think he’s leaner and I think his practice habits have improved. Coach Chatman has done a good job with him. He’s using his length and, ultimately, I think his football intelligence is increasing. He needs to continue to head in that direction for our team but also for himself.”
Jackson and the rest of the Gators’ defense will look to continue their recent success against Kentucky in week eight.
“I feel like how we’ve been performing at practice this week; we just go out there, execute and do our job, take care of business we can go out there and win.”