North Shore safety Evan Jackson is a gamer in the secondary and special teams, helping the Mustangs secure a title-defending state championship berth against Duncanville the week before Christmas at AT&T Stadium.
In the 49-34 state semifinal victory over Austin Westlake, Jackson was putting his man on an island on defense and created points in the second half with a punt return touchdown.
With the secondary, Jackson is physical at the line of scrimmage and keeps within arm’s reach of receivers with some incredible recovery speed. On special teams, wish defenders good luck tackling him one-on-one in open space. Jackson’s speed, agility and acrobatic tackle-breaking are reminiscent of Texas A&M All-SEC return specialist Devon Achane.
The Defender spoke with Jackson after the victory over Westlake to discuss his style of play, return game, mindset going to state, and more.
Defensive Style of Play
“I’m a very fast player. I think quickly and am a good coverage guy in man-to-man. I roll down on people and get my hands on (opponents) and get physical.”
Punt Return TD
“I was actually thinking of my running back Rashaad Johnson. He keeps his feet moving. So, I was like, keep moving them and keep running. So, I slipped out and made a play.”
What Makes Team Special
“The way we just stick together with each other and the brotherhood we created here. Once things go bad we don’t hang our head; we are going to keep it high and keep having each other’s back.”
Thoughts Going to State
“We got one more. We got another job. This is a business trip and we got to go handle business.”
About Evan Jackson
Twitter: @Official_3j
Current Offers: Grambling, Lamar, Marshall, Stephen F. Austin, etc.
Players He Studies: Jalen Ramsey
Favorite Artist: Rod Wave
Hobbies: Playing video games NBA2K and Madden
Shoutouts: “My family, community supporting us in the stands, and my teammates for pushing me through.”