Ad Disclosure
Despite season-ending injury, Alabama DB Eddie Jackson still motivating teammates
Published:
Although his playing days at Alabama are over, senior defensive back Eddie Jackson is still motivating his team.
Jackson, who suffered a season-ending injury (fractured leg) against Texas A&M on Oct. 23, recently penned a touching article to his teammates in The Players’ Tribune about not being able to be on the field for the College Football Playoff as the Crimson Tide look for a second straight national championship.
“Eddie is a great leader,” linebacker Rashaan Evans said after Alabama’s 24-7 win over Washington in the Peach Bowl semifinals. “He really is motivation to our team, and not only that, he’s just a great guy in general.
“Whenever I saw him on the sideline, man, Eddie always gave me a boost of just energy,” he added. “Just knowing you gotta play your last play each and every down. All I can say, man, is Eddie is just not only a good player but he’s also a great guy.”
Jackson joined the other three permanent captains (Reuben Foster, Jonathan Allen and Cam Robinson) midfield prior to Saturday afternoon’s kickoff. He was met with raging applause and an “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie!” chant from fans.
“I thought Eddie’s article that he wrote sort of epitomizes the team chemistry that this team has and how they really sort of care about each other and everybody tries to help each other and have each other’s back and support each other in doing the right things,” said coach Nick Saban during his post-game press conference. “I think that kind of leadership and that kind of togetherness is something that really helped us sustain the kind of effort that we needed in what was a very tough game tonight against a very good Washington team.”
In four years with Alabama (38 games), Jackson tallied 126 tackles (7.5 for loss), a sack, 10 interceptions — three of which were returned for touchdowns — 12 pass deflections and two forced fumbles.
Per CBS Sports, Jackson is the third-best strong safety prospect in the 2017 NFL Draft class. He is expected to come off the board somewhere between the third and fourth round.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
