It’s often been said by coaches and former players that head coach Nick Saban’s defensive plans are more complex than even some in the professional ranks.
That reason, along with the impressive amount of talent possessed by the Crimson Tide, makes it rare for freshmen to make serious impacts on the defensive side of the ball their first year.
The college football world witnessed one exception to the rule Saturday against Ole Miss: cornerback Eddie Jackson.
Jackson, a physical, 6-foot, 175-pound athlete, tallied four tackles and a key interception against the Rebels in just his second career start. Saban, who is heavily involved with the Crimson Tide defensive backs in practices, lauded his young corner on his performance.
“He’s an instinctive guy, and he played well in the game,” Saban said. “He had a couple of mistakes, but I thought that most of those were because of communication, which is one of the things that we emphasize, where he wasn’t sure about what the call was. When it came to his technique and what he was supposed to do, how he competed in the game, I thought he did a really good job.”
Both Rivals and Yahoo ranked Jackson as a three-star wide receiver prospect coming out of Boyd Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., a town nestled in a hotbed for high school football talent. JC Shurburtt, national recruiting director for 247Sports, recognized the enormous potential Jackson had and rated Jackson a four-star defensive back.
“Eddie Jackson’s projections rose significantly once he got on the field,” Shurburtt said. “As far as whether he would play receiver or cornerback in college, it was a foregone conclusion that’s where [Alabama] wanted him.”
As a senior, Jackson grabbed four interceptions and totaled 66 tackles on defense. He also caught 32 passes for 655 yards and eight touchdowns.
Jackson’s first career start was in the Crimson Tide’s third game against Colorado State, Alabama’s first home matchup of the season. Filling in initially for the injured Deion Belue, Jackson didn’t see extensive playing time, as Saban shuffled five cornerbacks at that position against the Rams.
Belue returned as a starter against Ole Miss and so did Jackson. The result? Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace was held to 159 yards passing and a 15.2 quarterback rating, while the Crimson Tide defense as a whole pitched a shutout.
Junior safety Vinnie Sunseri commended his teammate on his performance and indicated the composite secondary group could be finding its groove.
“I feel like that game solidified our secondary,” Sunseri said. “Everybody came together in a good way, and we had great communication.”
Dieter Kurtenbach of the Sun Sentinel, who had an eye on Jackson as an eighth grade prospect years ago, said Jackson always possessed many qualities needed to excel at the college level.
“He plays with so much impeccable understanding,” Kurtenbach said. “He just gets it. He isn’t phased by the things many other players might get rattled by. That’s just how he operates.”
Jackson also survived a scare late in the third quarter when the referee initially ejected him after a brutal collision with Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram, but the call was soon overturned.
It’s likely Jackson will get more playing time in the coming weeks to refine his technique and cement his starting position opposite Belue as the Crimson Tide hosts the Georgia State Panthers Saturday for the annual Homecoming game.
