The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/262939
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? and last and touch many lives." Jackson might not have been able to express all he held inside early on, but given the proper leg up, began expecting success. He achieved it in a big way, becoming a force for U-M and playing on its last two Big Ten championship teams (2003 and '04). His most stirring on-field memory involved (perhaps not coincidentally) eventual victory rather than individual brilliance. When U-M knocked off Penn State 27-24 in overtime during his sophomore season, the rush flowed from survival more than anything. "The most exciting game was my worst game of the season," he recalled. "It was back and forth. I gave up a few plays, but in the end, when the game was on the line, I made a play to help us win, breaking up a pass in the end zone." A year later, he participated in the 100th Ohio State-Michigan game, which resulted in a 35-21 triumph that sent the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl. "Beating them to win the Big Ten championship and go to the Rose Bowl was icing on the cake," he said. "When it was over, they bring out the roses, and everybody has them in their mouth — that's what I remember the most." The rose stem tasted far better than the vinegar surging over his taste buds in his final game in a Michigan uniform. The Wolverines battled Texas right to the end in Pasadena, but a Longhorns field goal — which Jackson, a two-time All-American, recorded 195 tackles and nine interceptions during his U-M career. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN