Former Texas defensive tackle Desmond Jackson was one of several players pursuing a lifelong dream to play in the NFL during a recent pro day at their school.
Several scouts were there to see Hassan Ridgeway, who could be a first- or second-day selection. Cornerback Duke Thomas has a shot to land in the NFL. Receiver Daje Johnson is an intriguing special teams prospect. Guys like Shiro Davis, Marcus Johnson and Peter Jinkens could make it into the NFL as undrafted free agents.
It was easy for aspiring players to dream when they looked around and saw former teammates in the crowd supporting them. Malcom Brown (Patriots), Jordan Hicks (Eagles), Quandre Diggs (Lions), Mykkele Thompson (Giants), Malcolm Brown (Rams) and Cedric Reed (Bills) were in attendance. In addition, Fozzy Whittaker (Panthers) and Emmanuel Acho (free agent) were among the other players in the bubble. Each player made it into the NFL. It was time for this year’s group to carry the torch.
Nobody knew Jackson was battling a nightmare while pursuing his dream.
Jackson visited Brandon Shoaf, his 24-year-old cousin, this past Sunday. Shoaf had kidney cancer, and was losing his four-month battle at such a young age. The two men were close. They grew up together in Austin, and were more than just family members. Jackson and Shoaf were friends.
“I told him I loved him,” Jackson said. “He was there breathing hard. He was able to tell me he loved me too before I left the room.”
Jackson was reminded of that love every day as he prepared for the upcoming draft in Florida. Nobody would have blamed Jackson for focusing on his own needs during the past few months. Instead, Shoaf made it a point to encourage Jackson during his NFL preparations.
“He was telling me to stay focused,” Jackson said. “Don’t worry about me. Just stay focused the whole time. That was my cousin.”
One day after seeing his cousin, Jackson received "the call" on Monday morning. We all have been there. The phone rings and somebody close to you lets you know a family member or friend has died. It is a haunting phone call that stays with you. Everything in the world stops because you are overcome with sadness.
The last thing on Jackson’s mind was football. His chance to impress NFL scouts was two days away, but Jackson was unsure if he would attend the biggest job interview of his life, especially since the former Texas standout was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine.
“I didn’t even know if I was going to come out here and do this,” Jackson said. “His mom called me (on Tuesday) and told me you better go out there and show out, do everything you want to do. My son was talking about you by the time he found out about everything.”
Jackson performed 36 reps on the bench press, which was one of the most impressive numbers that day. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.53 seconds, according to Alex Dunlap.
“I think I came out here and proved to everybody that I was ready to go,” Jackson said. “My injury is not an injury anymore. I was able to come out here and do my thing. I’m very pleased with the results that I had. I’m just ready for what God has in store for me.”
Shoaf’s funeral will be held at St. James Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday. It will be a celebration of life for grieving family members and friends. A time for everyone to support each other.
Jackson had to overcome a nightmare to participate at his pro day workout.
Shoaf was the inspiration to pursue his dream.
“I’m smiling now because at the end of the day, he always had a smile on his face, no matter what the situation was,” Jackson said. “I’ve never seen my cousin mad or upset. He’s always had a smile on his face, even when stuff was hard.”
Five Quick Thoughts
1. Backup quarterback Kai Locksley was asked to catch passes from walk-on quarterbacks during practice last week. It is officially safe to add Locksley to the transfer watch list.
2. While at the barbershop on Saturday, I was asked who was the No. 1 quarterback right now. After I told them it was Tyrone Swoopes, everyone was in disbelief. Swoopes will have to prove a lot of skeptics wrong if he earns the job again.
3. Chris Warren and D’Onta Foreman might be a better 1-2 combination than Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Brown were expected to be. It is too early to predict stats, but each running back believes there will be enough touches in Sterlin Gilbert’s offense to make everyone happy.
4. After speaking to Dylan Haines earlier this week, I give him credit for never never shying away from the cameras despite the constant criticism he has faced. Texas may not start DeShon Elliott and P.J Locke on day one, but Haines admitted the young guys are pushing him this spring.
5. I appreciate the Lorenzo Joe supporters contacting me after last week’s column. There was no disrespect intended on my part, or from the people I spoke to. People in the building just want to see more from Joe, the same way they want a lot of players to step up in spring.
Funniest Thing You Will See This Week
Sports On A Dime
1. I honestly thought Cleveland was just kicking the tires on Robert Griffin III, but the Browns are ready to take another questionable quarterback on a spin. According to several reports, Griffin took ownership of his mistakes in Washington. This will probably be his final opportunity to start in the NFL, and hopefully he does not take this chance for granted.
2. Dallas' recent acquisition of Alfred Morris was the right move. Darren McFadden has battled injuries throughout his career, and Morris is a quality backup who can step in if the starting running back cannot play this season. However, I do wish Jerry Jones would have closed the door on the possibility of re-signing Greg Hardy during the recent owners meetings. Considering no other team is beating down Hardy’s door, I am not sure why Jones is enamored with Hardy and his baggage.
3. If Aaron Rodgers says he saw a UFO, I believe him. There has to be more in the universe than just humans. Unfortunately, for Rodgers, he never spotted a receiver who could duplicate Jordy Nelson’s productivity last year.
4. Speaking of rare sights for Rodgers, props to Eddie Lacy for getting serious during the offseason. Maybe I will not have to worry about him ruining another fantasy football season for me:
5. For those who followed the career of former Alabama running back Trent Richardson, this story on AL.com about attempting to revive his NFL career is a great read. Sadly, this part of the story stuck out, and is a pressure so many professional athletes have endured:
There were also the family members and friends constantly asking for money to the point, Richardson said, that it became mentally exhausting and took away from his focus on football.
There were countless texts and calls each day. Richardson bought cars for people, somehow got stuck with paying for five funerals that were each at least $12,000 and treated people to unnecessary things like week-long trips to places like Disney World.
“And people still had the nerve to complain about the trip," Richardson said.
6. As much as I respect Arizona coach Bruce Arians, saying “People who say they won't let their son play [football] are fools” is just reckless. Sure, there are a lot of valuable lessons football can teach young men, but parents are not wrong for directing their children into other sports until there we learn more about how football concussions, and CTE, affects players. I'd rather my son learn about the value of teamwork through baseball or basketball than worry about him having long-term brain damage because of football.
7. Andrew Ward is a little confusing right now. Ward won a gold medal in the Olympics, has been boxing professionally since 2004 with 29 professional fights, but might need another tune-up fight before facing Sergey Kovalev after beating down Sullivan Barrera on Saturday? I really hope that is just talk.
8. Some days you are the dog. Other days you are the tree:
9. Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski deserves credit for backtracking from the comments he made to Oregon forward Dillon Brooks after a recent loss. Coach K might be the dean of college basketball right now, but he overstepped his boundaries by correcting a player at another school. His biggest focus should have been getting Grayson Allen, a player on his team, to play within the rules more often.
10. Sadly, most guys can identify with President Obama’s dilemma at a recent baseball game, regardless of political affiliation.
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