Jackson's Leadership a Natural Development
Junior middle linebacker not afraid to be the center of attention
Mike Brohard
Devin Phillips could tell a few things right off the bat.
As a true freshman at Colorado State, he was having a hard time making the adjustment to being a college football player, and, actually, college in general. It was the summer, he was away from home and he admits he wasn’t always making the proper decisions.
He also had Dequan Jackson by his side constantly.
“He was my roommate in Summit,” Phillips said. “Just seeing his actions, how he carried himself each day, by me looking at that – I was going down the wrong path at first – but by me picking up on his actions, picking up what he was doing, it led me in the right direction toward being a leader on this team.
“That’s really important. Coming in, some guys are lost and they’re still trying to get the feel for things. They need that guy that comes in and takes that leadership, steps up and helps guys out.”
Before the first month, Phillips just knew. His recruiting class was going to constantly be looking to Jackson for direction. He was pretty sure it wouldn’t be long before the entire team would, too.
Phillips’ intuition, of course, was correct. By the time Jackson was a sophomore, he was part of the team’s leadership council.
This was just Jackson being himself.
I love it just because I don’t want to be average. If you’re a leader, you’re forced to be above average. That’s what I want to be. I don’t want to be an average guy in life. I don’t want to be an average guy in the classroom or off the field. Everything I do I do at full speed.Dequan Jackson, CSU Linebacker
He isn’t afraid to bark out orders in the defensive huddle. There’s no trepidation when asking somebody to correct a flaw. He has no issue pulling somebody aside to mentor or direct them.
Being a leader is organic for some people, and Jackson is one of them. He also went about it the right way. As a freshman, he wasn’t shy, but he knew his place. He had to pick and choose when to speak up and he had to earn credibility first. None of it caused him a moment of worry.
“Just be myself. I don’t have to be anybody else, but be the Alpha Male though,” Jackson said. “You have to run around, fly around, lock in and focus in. You can make mistakes, but as a leader, you feel you hold a standard, and every day I just attacked it. I learned how to attack it, embrace the grind and do what I need to do to get everybody else going. If you’re a leader, you can’t just focus on yourself. You try to rally everybody to one goal, and I learned that last year.”
In a few short months, Colorado State head coach Steve Addazio has learned it, too. There are certain types of people a football team wants to serve as the middle linebacker, and Jackson checks those boxes, as well as a few extra.
“For me, I’ve always been of the school the center is the apex of the offense and the middle linebacker is the apex of the defense. I think that’s accurate,” Addazio said. “He’s a smart, physical guy. He’s tough and he loves ball. Those are my kind of guys.”
In high school, Jackson was the guy -- the Alpha Male -- and everybody knew it. When he flew across country from Jacksonville, Fla., to become a Ram, he had to rebuild that status. There was nothing to plan, to steps he knew he had to take. It didn’t work that way at Robert E. Lee High School, it just happened.
It is presence. Attention to detail. The way he carries himself and his desire to bring along others. It’s understanding mistakes will be made, but corrections are expected.
More importantly, it has to be for the good of all, not the idea of standing atop a pedestal.
With Jackson, it is a cocktail of follow my lead and listen to what I say, and he has no problem having eyes directed his way.
“I’m definitely comfortable. I think it’s a great thing,” Jackson said. “You have to do everything right. You can make a mistake, but in a sense, you know that you can’t have a bad day. You’ve got to come in and you have to grind. I love it just because I don’t want to be average. If you’re a leader, you’re forced to be above average. That’s what I want to be. I don’t want to be an average guy in life. I don’t want to be an average guy in the classroom or off the field. Everything I do I do at full speed.”
He played as a true freshman, but became instrumental to the Rams defense last year when he posted 87 tackles, including 6.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. He posted a trio of double-digit tackle games in 2019, two of them coming in the final seven weeks as the defense played better than it has in years.
He was the man in the middle, as everyone at Colorado State knew. The Mountain West as taken note, as he earned preseason All-Mountain West recognition at linebacker to go along with conference academic honors.
“He stepped up and played that role of being a leader for this team,” Phillips said. “As we began to start practice, I could see him playing a bigger role, trying to keep everybody in line, keep everybody in check, make sure everybody is doing the right thing and they know everything they need to know.
“To have a guy like that in the middle of it all, it’s good. He’s right there in the middle of the defense and everybody can hear him. By him stepping up vocally and making sure everybody is doing their job and doing the right thing, it brings everybody together and makes sure we’re all playing together instead of everybody doing their own thing.”
Addazio said a team, not even a unit, can survive on one leader alone. He likes what he sees developing on defense; he wants to see more of it on offense. The really powerful voices are those who can reach the entire locker room, which is the type of leadership Jackson has shown.
This is who he is and the purpose is clear.
He wants to win. He wants Colorado State to excel, and just making himself a good player is not taking it far enough. He understands he has to bring others along. Like he did with Phillips when they were still growing their horns.
“That’s what leadership is,” Jackson said. “Getting a whole bunch of guys going toward one goal. It’s not just about myself.”