Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson could use Bradley Fletcher as inspiration
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – One of the neatest things about covering the Iowa football team under Kirk Ferentz is watching a player turn overlooked potential into high-level performance.
From Jonathon Babineaux to Chad Greenway to Karl Klug to Bradley Fletcher and Josey Jewell, the list of lightly recruited players who have excelled at Iowa is long and illustrious.
And now here comes Josh Jackson.
Maybe.
Jackson’s body of work, which includes just two career starts, isn’t nearly big enough to anoint him as a star-in-the-making or as Iowa's next great story under Ferentz.
But there are hints that it could happen.
Jackson has locked down a starting cornerback position as a junior and he performed well in last Saturday’s 24-3 victory over Wyoming in the season opener at Kinnick Stadium.
“We're really optimistic,” Ferentz said of Jackson. “He's got a really good future.”
Jackson will face a daunting task on Saturday against Iowa State, whose biggest strength might be its talent and depth at receiver with players like senior Allen Lazard.
Jackson had to wait for his turn behind former starting cornerbacks Desmond King and Greg Mabin, both of whom are now rookies in the NFL. King was a four-year starter at cornerback, while Mabin started opposite of King at cornerback for three seasons.
Jackson still managed to appear in 26 game over the past two seasons, often times as Iowa’s fifth defensive back in pass coverage.
He came to Iowa from Corinth, Texas as an athlete and briefly played receiver before settling on cornerback.
Tall, rangy and athletic, the 6-foot-1, 192-pound Jackson certainly looks the part. He is about three inches taller than Desmond King and has long arms that can hinder a receiver.
Jackson apparently just needed some time to fully grasp what it takes from a mental standpoint to compete at the highest level of college football.
“He's always worked hard, and he's got a great attitude,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of Jackson. “He likes football. There's no question about that. That was really evident. He just wasn't a real detailed guy at the start, some of the things that are really critical; and if you're going to be a defensive back, it's important to know you have some certain responsibilities.”
Jackson started to emerge last season as a third-year sophomore. His preparation and attention to detail finally started to match his talent and work ethic.
“I think it's overall maturation, which you see with a lot of players,” Ferentz said. “Attitude was never a question with him. His work ethic was always good. It's kind of keeping things between the lines a little bit better. It just seems like last year, he really started to blossom a little bit. I can go back to two seasons ago. He saw some things on film, things he was doing, and playing well on special teams. Doing some things there that really gave us encouragement.”
Jackson could use the aforementioned Bradley Fletcher as inspiration because their situations are similar.
Fletcher also had to wait his turn at Iowa. But once it came, he seized the opportunity and played well enough as a fifth-year senior in 2008 to attract the attention of NFL scouts.
Fletcher has now played seven seasons in the NFL with three different teams, but is currently an unsigned free agent whose career might be over.
“They are not the same player, but the progress is probably (the same); I think that's fair, yeah,” Ferentz said of comparing Jackson to Fletcher. “Bradley was a good special team’s guy. Took a little while for things to click defensively and boy, when they did, he played really well.
“So, they are a little different styles, but yeah, I think that's probably a fair comparison as far as the development goes.”
Jackson credits his emergence to time and experience. This is his fourth year in the program after redshirting as a true freshman in 2014, and he has been through a lot.
He learned from watching King and Mabin, but more so just from playing.
“It’s just about training your body the right way, steps, and using your technique each and every down,” said Jackson, who picked Iowa over scholarship offers from New Mexico State, Colorado State and Nevada. “I think with that, physically, it’s just reps that you need in practice and games.
“I think once you get those reps it makes it a lot easier for you to become more consistent.”
The way in which Iowa quarterback Nathan Stanley described Jackson on Tuesday is a testimony to how far Jackson has come with regard to his preparation.
The same kid who used to struggle with attention to detail now uses what he knows to rattle opponents, and his teammates in practice.
“He disguises the coverages that he’s playing well,” said Stanley. “He’ll come up and set up on the line like he’s going to press and then bail. So he definitely poses some problems with reads that our receivers have to get and the reads that I have to get.
“So playing against a guy like him definitely helps you prepare.”
Jackson just crossed the halfway point of his college career. He basically has two years to leave his mark and to reach his full potential.
Sophomore Manny Rugamba will start against Iowa State at the other cornerback position after serving a one-game suspension. Rugamba was considered Iowa's top cornerback heading into this season, largely because of how he performed as a true freshman last season.
And he still might be Iowa's best cornerback, but Jackson is gaining ground as he showed last Saturday.
Fletcher was in a similar position a decade ago and seized the moment.
Jackson’s performance against Wyoming, which included a 41-yard interception return and five tackles, could be the start of him doing the same thing.