Jackson sticks with it
MOSCOW, Idaho – Deonte Jackson just loves tattoos.
The Idaho freshman running back has been known to burst through the line, make a cut and tattoo a defensive back with the kind of blow that leaves black and blue marks.
Truth be told, Jackson prefers a different kind of tattoo. Despite his hard-nosed style on the field, a couple of his favored designs featured butterflies and flowers.
“Tattooing, I love it. I love everything about tattooing” he said. “It’s the art.”
Jackson has designed tattoos for friends, including one that spelled a name with butterflies and another that spelled a name within a bouquet of flowers.
Jackson, who sports 15 tattoos, is also an artist with the football.
He started his career with 99 yards against top-ranked USC and then set a Vandals freshman record with 214 against Cal Poly. Heading into Saturday’s home game against Louisiana Tech, he is 26 yards shy of 1,000.
“I’m very excited about that,” he said. “Going into the season it was one of my goals set with myself, my coach and my pastor back home.”
There has never been a question about the 5-foot-8, 181-pounder’s talent.
“We thought he was a very good player,” first-year head coach Robb Akey said. “He’s looked at as an undersized back. Therefore, how many hits could he take, what kind of longevity would he have? He proved that early.”
He had 22 carries against USC and that kept increasing until he suffered a high ankle sprain in the fourth game. He hasn’t missed a game, however, and has put together five 100-yard performances.
“I didn’t expect this many carries,” Jackson said. “I knew I earned the starting spot. I set my goal to keep that throughout the season, and I knew if I did my best game after game I was going to get carries. That’s why I set the goal.”
The real question is why Jackson is at Idaho after growing up in Las Vegas and moving to Warren, Ark., for his final two years in high school.
Jackson was recruited by Dennis Erickson’s staff, which was well acquainted with him because he used to go to Oregon State’s summer camps when his uncle, Stephen Jackson, now a star running back for the St. Louis Rams, was with the Beavers.
“We’re very close,” Jackson said. “We talk two or three times a week.”
Jackson didn’t know Erickson was the Idaho coach until the first recruiting contact, although the decision was almost a no-brainer.
“The thing that made me take Idaho was the trust my family had in (Erickson) and his staff,” Jackson said.
When Erickson left for Arizona State he invited Jackson, who had red-shirted, to join him.
“It was tough. I thought about it for a while,” he said. “All in all, the scales tipped to Idaho. Arizona State, the town is more tempting, but being truthful, it’s not the environment for me. I need to stay focused on school, take care of that, and get done what I need to get done.”
The truth is Jackson is perfectly comfortable with the Vandals.
“We bonded,” he said. “I call every player my brother. We made a pact to stay and get this thing turned around. I’m a man of my word.”
Jackson commiserates with his uncle, whose Rams have one less win than the 1-8 Vandals.
“He does a good job of keeping me uplifted,” Jackson said. “He said never give up. Playing sports my whole life, I know wins and losses happen. You won’t win them all, but you won’t lose them all either. When you’re down, you need to find a way to get up and win.”
An honor student in high school, Jackson is studying architecture and art, though his passion is for drawing “real life, things I can see.”
“I’d like to be a teacher, open an art school back home in Vegas,” he said. “I think my generation is losing it’s appreciation of fine arts.”
Quick kicks
Nevada, allowing more than 220 yards a game rushing, held Jackson to 45 and the Vandals to 56, their lowest total in two years. The Wolf Pack, averaging 2.2 yards on punt returns, averaged almost 19 against Idaho, contributing to the Vandals’ early 17-0 deficit. … After six TD passes, Hawaii’s Colt Brennan is two short of Ty Detmer’s NCAA and WAC record 121. … New Mexico State comes off a big loss at Hawaii to play visiting Nevada on Friday on ESPN2. … Louisiana Tech freshman linebacker Dominque Faust blocked his third kick of the season at Utah State. … Idaho is the first team this season not to score in the first quarter against Nevada. … Running back Ian Johnson is cleared to play after missing Boise State’s last two games with a bruised kidney. … BSU freshmen Jeremy Avery and D.J. Harper combined to run for 292 yards and four TDs against Fresno. … Fresno’s Ryan Mathews is second in the nation among freshmen with 10 rushing TDs. Jackson has five. … Hawaii’s Dan Kelly missed two PATs after making 69 in a row.