“I was really bad,” Jackson said. “I didn’t win a match my first two years. The next year I won state, and I figured out that this might be something I can do.”
Raised in Crete, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, Jackson said his dad owned a barbershop that made Crete feel more like home.
He said he is grateful for the way his parents raised him and for the morals his parents instilled in him.
One of these morals is his faith.
“We went to church every weekend,” he said. “It started off being something I didn’t really care for, but I am a pretty religious guy now.”
Growing up, Jackson was involved in many other sports, including baseball.
He said he honestly believed he would be a baseball player instead of a wrestler but he chose wrestling after an injury playing baseball one summer.
Before IU, Jackson had a lot of success on the wrestling mat, including four straight trips to the state championship tournament in high school.
He said wrestling in college was not a sure thing as he began his senior year of high school. If he wanted to wrestle at the next level he said he had to prove it on the mat.
Prove it he did. Jackson went on to be crowned state champion his senior season.
Jackson had many options coming out of high school. He said his top three choices were Arizona State, Nebraska and IU.
IU Coach Duane Goldman wanted him at IU because of the athleticism he saw in Jackson.
“He’s just an athlete, he’s long and quick,” Goldman said. “He’s got good skills, even though they weren’t taught skills, it’s just a feel that he has for the sport, and as an athlete, those are things you can’t really teach.”
The relationship Jackson built with Goldman during the recruiting process is what helped Jackson make the decision to attend IU.
“Everything he told me since being here, he kept his word,” Jackson said. “I was very fortunate to meet him, he was definitely the deciding factor.”
Jackson’s most memorable moment to this point is when he participated in the NCAA Championships last year, but he is hungry for more.
“It didn’t turn out how I wanted, but it gave me an understanding that I belong there,” Jackson said. “It has motivated me for this year.”
Jackson has high individual goals for the season and said he has plans of being a national champ.
Goldman said he believes Jackson can accomplish that.
“I absolutely think he can, but there is a lot of steps, there’s a lot of tough competition,” Goldman said. “He has every opportunity and quality to do that.”
Jackson’s nerves still get to him before he touches the mat each tournament, but his faith helps him overcome those nerves.
He said he prays before every match to help with his nerves, and this is something he has been doing since his senior year of high school.
Jackson hopes to get to that level with hard work, but his faith will help him grow regardless of the outcome.
“Before every match, actually what I say before I get on the mat is ‘Have your way,’” Jackson said. “Whatever He has planned for me, I take that on the chin, and I grow from this experience one way or another.”
