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MOBILE, Ala. – The Swiss Army knife has been in existence for nearly 150 years, an instrument with multiple tools that can accomplish any number of tasks.
University of South Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack has been on the job less than a year, having joined the Jaguar coaching staff in the middle of January. But it didn’t take him long to figure out that he might have the football equivalent of the famous implement at his disposal this fall.
“I think that’s a great analogy,” says Wommack. “Kalen is such a versatile player; he can run with someone man-to-man, he can fall back in the box and play linebacker — he’s done that before — and he can blitz off the edge. We’ve obviously seen him be productive at all three of those things. When you have a player as dynamic and versatile as Kalen is, it allows me as a play-caller to utilize him in so many different ways without having to change personnel.
“That’s why it is so critical that he has to play that husky position for us.”
“Kalen is a very physical football player out on the perimeter, he plays like a linebacker but has the skills of a nickelback; he is able to run man-to-man with people,” adds Jag head coach Joey Jones. “Any outside plays to his side, he is going to be there making the play. It helps our defense knowing that we have a guy sitting out there to the field who can pretty much take that half of the field away.”
And just how effective has Kalen Jackson been in 2016? Jones notes when he talks to counterparts on the field prior to kickoff, the Magee, Miss., native has been a consistent topic of conversation.
“I’ve had a lot of comments from other coaches who kept asking me who No. 6 is, they knew what kind of football player he was,” he says. “I think they work their game plan around some of the positions that he would be in on our defense.”
For Jackson, the ability to do so many different things on the football field is a product of his upbringing
“It goes back to when I played from the pee-wee level to high school,” he says. “I never had a set position. I played quarterback, running back, safety, corner; you name it, I played it all except for on the offensive line. I’ve always been an athlete — I played baseball and basketball in high school — which has helped me become the player that I am today.”
In addition, Wommack credits Jackson’s knowledge of the game and his capacity to learn to his ability to contribute in a number of ways on the field. “Kalen has an ability to learn, he is such a smart player and he’s seen enough football because he’s played at a number of positions at a number of places in different schemes, his learning curve was so quick to pick those things up,” he says. “He has a unique feel for the game — when the ball is snapped, as the play is being played out, he has a great feel for where the ball is going. That’s why you continue to see him make plays all over the field, he has such a great, instinctive ability out there.”
It’s been a long road that Jackson has travelled from his hometown, located between the cities of Hattiesburg and Jackson and with a population of less than 5,000 people in the most recent census count. But if one thing is certain, it’s that Jackson was destined to play football.
Starting with his bloodline. Jackson’s father, Keith, was a three-year letterwinner as a defensive tackle at Mississippi State from 1977-79.
“I always had a knack for football,” he recalls. “My mom told me that when I was born the first thing they gave me was a little play football, and ever since then I couldn’t get away from it. They never forced me to play anything, it was just in my blood. I was always mesmerized by football from a young age, watching my older cousins who played a lot of sports. In my immediate family I was the only boy and the youngest, and when I was out there playing with them they were so much bigger, but it didn’t matter; I used to get knocked down and they would tell me not to cry and that I needed to be tough.
“I think that helped make me who I am as a player today.”
And while his hometown is not big, according to Jackson it does have a reputation throughout the Magnolia State. But it’s not just the history of Magee that has helped shape Jackson — starting at the pee-wee level as a seven-year old — as he has developed on the field, he has picked up a core set of values that are perfect in football as well as life.
“Magee is a very small town but historically we’ve been known for football, if you talk to people in Mississippi and mention Magee they will tell you that Magee football has a great tradition,” he explains. “Growing up there instilled in me the value of hard work, we’re a small town but with a lot of great people in it, it helped me so much. And being that it was a small town I was able to play a lot of different sports; some high school coaches only want you to play a certain sport, but there I played everything. I enjoyed it, and there never was a conflict.”
Not only did he earn three letters for the Trojans in football, he also played four years of basketball and three of baseball at the prep level. Leading into his junior year, it looked as if Jackson would find a home at an in-state institution, but an injury that fall would change the situation. “My junior year I was hearing from a lot of four-year schools — Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, the big in-state schools — but I ended up getting injured and it slowed down the recruiting process,” he recalls.
Despite returning to the field his for his senior season, the interest in Jackson had dwindled. He would end up heading to Copiah-Lincoln C.C. to continue his playing career, but the experience is something he carries with him to this day.
“I had a decent senior year but no offers, I don’t feel like a lot of people knew about me,” says Jackson. “I feel like I was a great high school player and they overlooked me. I think that was a blessing because it allows me to have that chip on my shoulder that people thought I wasn’t good enough. I’ve always had heart, they didn’t know how much I love and want to learn about the game. I think a lot of people missed out.”
As a freshman at the junior-college level, Jackson led the Wolfpack with 82 tackles, with his three stops behind the line and four passes broken up highlighting the versatility he brought to the field. He earned all-region honors the following year, breaking up 15 passes and intercepting two others to go along with a total of 43 stops, but once again the interest in Jackson from NCAA Division I coaches was limited. He had three scholarship offers, from Alabama-Birmingham, Georgia State and Nevada.
“I didn’t want to go too far from home so I didn’t want to go to Nevada, at the time I thought UAB was the best decision,” Jackson says. “I wanted to go get my education and play football, and they afforded me the opportunity.”
In his Division I debut for the Blazers against Troy, Jackson was credited with five tackles — including a sack — and a fumble recovery, and the following week at Mississippi State he had two stops, an interception and two other passes defended when the season took a turn for the worse. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament before the end of that game, forcing him to sit out the rest of the fall.
Then, in December, the news got worse for Jackson as he and his teammates learned that the school’s administration had decided to shut down the program. Given his circumstances at the time, he wondered if he had played his last snap on the football field.
“To put it all in one word, it was devastating,” Jackson remembers. “I was coming off an ACL injury and I didn’t think anyone would take a chance on me, I really thought I wasn’t going to be able to play football again. That was a hard, hard point in my life. I really took it hard not only because the program was shut down but my football career was in jeopardy, I love football so much I didn’t want to see it go like that. That was tough.”
As Jackson attempted to figure out what to do in lieu of the news, it impacted him in a way that still affects him to this day. “It was a real humbling experience because it felt like I was on top of the world and had finally made it to Division I football, a place I had always dreamed about playing. It made me not take football for granted, and it also brought me closer to Jesus Christ; I realized that He is always in control.”
It didn’t take long for UAB’s decision to impact the South Alabama program. First, Jones brought assistant coach Bryant Vincent — who had been on his staff from 2011-13 — back to Mobile as the Jaguars prepared for their first-ever postseason bowl game. In January, what would turn out to be five starters for the Jags on offense last season enrolled in school as transfers. Despite playing on the other side of the ball, a couple of people who made the move down I-65 that winter helped lead Jackson to South.
“Coach Vincent brought him up to me and said Kalen was one heck of a football player,” Jones explains. “He got injured and didn’t play but in two games that season, but he saw him all through camp and told me what kind of player he was and the character he had. When I heard that and watched the film, I knew that we needed him on our football team.”
“Cody called me up after I had committed to Western Kentucky, he told me to come to South and check it out on a visit,” adds Jackson. “I got here and ended up loving the place so I committed and came in January. It was great having all those guys here, all my friends that I knew from UAB, that’s why I chose to come here. All those guys were on the offensive side of the ball so I didn’t have too much interaction with them in the building, but it was still nice to have some familiar faces that you know.”
Jackson’s ability to adapt were apparent almost immediately. He had nine stops in his Jaguar debut, posted six solo tackles and intercepted two passes to be named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week after helping USA defeat rival Troy — tonight’s opponent — in the “Battle For The Belt,” and recorded a career-best 12 stops against eventual league champion Arkansas State. He finished the year with 72 tackles, led USA with 8½ stops behind the line, adding three quarterback pressures and a forced fumble as well, earning honorable mention all-conference accolades.
While many would be satisfied with those accomplishments, Jackson wasn’t impressed.
“I actually expected to do better,” he states. “That was my first time playing linebacker so I think I surprised a lot of people, but I didn’t surprise myself because I always know what I am capable of. I knew that I could be good no matter where I went, if you put me on the field I’m going to make some plays.
“I feel like I’ve done some nice things, but I can get better,” Jackson continues. “One of the things I want to improve on is my [man-to-]man coverage skills, and I want to keep learning what the offense is trying to do to the defense so I can be more prepared. I just want to become a better player, I want to be more football literate and learn the game inside and out.”
Jackson might not have been dazzled by his performance in 2015, but as Wommack arrived and began to watch film of those who would return from USA’s defensive unit this fall it didn’t take him long to believe he was going to work with a special individual.
“The first thing you saw was a dude who plays with a completely different motor when the game goes on, game day is just different for him,” he explains. “You see players who are special like him that when the game is being played, they play at a different level and speed, that is probably the first thing that caught my eye. That husky position has been so critical for us because of the importance of what that dynamic position does for us, he’s a dynamic player and I knew he would fit perfectly in that role.”
This fall has been no different, as entering tonight’s match-up with the Trojans Jackson is the team’s leading tackler with 38 stops. And as might be expected of a jack-of-all-trades, he not only ranks third in the Sun Belt in stops for loss per contest — he has eight in six outings — Jackson has also contributed two forced fumbles, a pair of sacks, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.
It may take a lot of work to be able to provide that kind of production, but for Jackson that is an afterthought.
“It does take more preparation, but it’s also a lot of fun because I’m a very versatile person and player,” he observes. “Mentally and physically it allows me to work my brain learning both sides of the field and what everybody is doing because at any point in time I could be back at linebacker or at free safety if something was to happen to one of my teammates. It’s been a lot of fun for me, and a great learning experience.”
Can Jackson play at the professional level? He is one of the members of the program NFL scouts have inquired about as they have done evaluations going back to preseason camp. When it is time to hang up the cleats, though, Jackson plans to stay involved with the game and has chosen a major to expand his opportunities down the road.
“I would love to be a football broadcaster one day,” he says. “I want to be around the game and talk about the game and learn more about it, and I feel that my communication major will put me in the right field to still be close to football.”
In addition to continuing to play basketball and staying active in his free time, Jackson enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing cards and fishing — “I’m from the country,” he jokes — when he has a chance to go back and visit Magee. He would eventually like to move back permanently, but not necessarily in the near future.
“I don’t necessarily want to go back to Magee when I am finished playing football, but when I retire I would like to go back home,” says Jackson. “There is nothing like home, I love Magee, it’s a great place — any time I have the opportunity to go back home now, I’m going. But as far as a career I’m going to choose a place that gives me the best chance of being successful.”
But first, there are opponents to torment as the Jaguars look to build on a 3-3 start that includes victories over both Southeastern Conference and nationally-ranked opponents and return to a postseason bowl game. Something Jackson can do in a variety of ways, like a Swiss Army knife on a football field.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Article rights: South Alabama Athletic Media Relations.
