Everybody’s route to college football in the SEC is different. Some are five-star athletes that held every offer in the book, others are lowly rated recruits that had to start their collegiate journey elsewhere. It was the latter for Florida’s redshirt senior running back Ja’Kobi Jackson.
As a zero star recruit out of Pensacola Catholic High School, Jackson held just four division one offers: Western Kentucky, UAB, South Alabama, and Charlotte. It wasn’t because a lack of success, however. In two years at the varsity level, Jackson combined for 2,141 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on 7.9 yards per carry. He also added 761 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
The Covid-19 pandemic hurt Jackson’s chances to communicate with division one teams. Restrictions on travel made it difficult for Jackson to take visits or attend camps.
“I had four scholarship offers out of high school, but when COVID came, I really couldn’t take any visits. And it was really just like, okay, if I’m not that high on their board that they didn’t say, ‘Oh, come here,’ or anything. We just lost contact completely, and that’s what it was. Ended up at junior college,” Jackson said on his high school recruitment.
With his offers falling through due to a lack of communication, Jackson got a job at Lowe’s in the lumber department given the uncertainty of his football career.
“It was pretty hard. I had to get a job at Lowe’s, like, a month before I even know what junior college I was going to,” Jackson said. “So I had worked at Lowe’s for like a month, and then I went to my coach who knew a coach who knew a coach, and I ended up at Coahoma Community College. And I didn’t take a visit. I didn’t do anything. I got on the road, packed my bags, and I got dropped off down there.”
Despite a series of unfortunate events, Jackson remained certain that he would get his opportunity at the next level.
“I never once thought that I wasn’t going to be playing football again,” Jackson said. “It’s just more like where and when and what school I was going to be at.”
Jackson spent three years at Coahoma Community College before committing to Charleston Southern. Several weeks before Jackson was set to enroll at CSU, Florida’s staff reached out as the only other school to offer the talented 5’11, 220 pound back.
“Joe Hamiliton and Jacob LaFrance first texted me on Twitter and then Coach Napier called me twice, but I didn’t know who it was, so it went straight to voicemail,” Jackson said. “Then he texted me, and at that point it was just a crazy moment. I was just jumping up and down, and then went to Google to google the names from the Twitter pages to see that they were legit. From that point on, the day before graduation, coach called me and we talked about it, and he just said he was going to get me down there and he liked my film and everything, and we just built a relationship from that day on.”
Playing time at UF seemed doubtful for Jackson as he joined a room consisting of two younger running backs in Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson Jr., both of which are currently in the NFL.
“I wouldn’t say it’s daunting because I came from junior college, you know, junior college to the SEC, so it’s a dream come true. At that point, I really just thought about what I need to do so that I can get on their level. It wasn’t anything to do with being daunting or sad. I was really just grateful and thankful for the opportunity that coach gave me just to be here,” Jackson said.
With the odds stacked against him once again, Jackson put his head down and worked.
“I had to come in and do extra,” Jackson said. “That’s what I had to do. I had to come in and do the extra, watch extra film, because they were here already and I was just getting here so I had to really come in and do the extra and learn different things that I didn’t know before I got here.”
It was more than just a huge step up in competition for Jackson. It was a culture shock.
“The big changes would be recovery, training room and the weight room. My first two years, my first year and a half at junior college, I didn’t have a weight room, I worked out in a garage shed type of thing,” Jackson said. “So really just getting here and seeing all the recoveries, the pools, the different Normatec boots that we have, the different cold tubs, steam rooms, everything that we have was really exciting. I felt like a kid in a candy store when I first got here, my first visit here. It was an amazing experience and I’m still excited every day to be here.”
It took Jackson a year to get acclimated to football in the SEC, but he capitalized on his opportunity when it arrived, rushing for 509 yards and seven touchdowns throughout the 2024 season.
“It has been a very big difference. The main thing I would say throughout it all is just staying in the process and staying level headed through it all and just knowing your why really. Knowing why you work hard, why you come in everyday and do the things you do, why you fell in love with the game of football to begin with. Just doing that, that really helped me through it all, coming in with no name and just putting my head down and grind,” Jackson said.
The media asked Jackson about his ‘why’, as most players with his route would have given up long before this point.
“My mom. I got a lot of siblings. 11 siblings, seven sisters, four brothers. Having a big family and just growing up with them and my mom, they were my why. I never watched my mom give up on us, she always came through and did what she needed to do, so that’s why I do what I need to do,” Jackson said.
Jackson is back for his 6th and final season of college eligibility and is set to be a primary weapon in Florida’s offense. Going from an unknown running back to tying the team high in rushing touchdowns last year, Jackson’s unique journey is not only admirable, but inspiring to fans, coaches, and athletes in a similar situation.