UGA Football: Frierson Chats With Dan Jackson

Dan Jackson is having a moment. Playing for the No. 1-ranked Georgia football team, the walk-on isn’t just getting on the field here and there. And the Bulldogs’ fans have noticed.

A 6-foot-1 and 190-pound redshirt sophomore defensive back from Gainesville, Ga., Jackson led the Bulldogs with six tackles in last week’s win at Auburn, and on special teams in the shutout of Arkansas two weeks ago, he blocked a punt that was recovered for a touchdown. Heading into Saturday’s big game against No. 11 Kentucky, Jackson has 13 tackles, nine of them solo.

William Mote, Georgia’s long snapper on punts, is very good friends with Jackson, Both came in as walk-ons and earned their places on the team and on the field. During a recent Quick Chat, Mote brought up Jackson often, saying that he’s one of those guys that’s seemingly good at everything he does.

During a Quick Chat after practice Tuesday, Jackson talked about making plays, chasing dreams, playing the guitar, the importance of having confidence in yourself, and much more. Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: What is it like being in this moment? Because it kind of feels like you’re having a bit of a breakout moment.

Jackson: I’m just thankful for the opportunity. Ever since I got here I’ve been wanting to contribute, whatever that looked like. Yes, sir, I’m just thankful. I know that this is just the beginning and I’ve got a long way to go.

Frierson: I know you haven’t reached the top of the mountain yet, but do you have a message to people about chasing your dreams?

Jackson: I would just say, don’t give up, obviously. If you want something, then hard work is key but I think what’s even more important is consistency. You’re going to have bad days, you’re going to have great days, and you just ride that out. It’s all about consistency and not giving up.

Frierson: When I was talking to Mote, your name came up a lot. The impression I got from him is that you’re one of those guys that’s good at everything he does — including playing the guitar. Is that accurate?

Jackson: [Laughs] There are a lot of things that I’m not so good at, but I grew up playing the guitar. I played with my church through middle school and high school, and that’s something I like to do when I have free time just to relax.

That really means a lot, Mote saying that. Mote’s really good at a lot of things, too. He can play the guitar well, too.

Frierson: You mention playing in church, but Mote said you could “shred” on the electric guitar, and you’re probably not doing that in church too much.

Jackson: [Laughs] I don’t know about shredding but I do play the electric guitar more, the (Fender) Telecaster and the Stratocaster. It’s just something to take my mind off of things and to relax. And I can do that for the rest of my life.

Frierson: Is there one song you love to play or would love to learn how to play really well?

Jackson: I like to play more country music but (AC/DC’s) “Thunderstruck” is a challenging one. Some people try to cheat their way through that song, but if you really dig in and learn how to play it the right way it can be really fun.

Frierson: What’s something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?

Jackson: I eat a lot of chicken [laughs]. I’m from Gainesville and some call it the Chicken Capital of the World, and I love chicken. Whether it’s fried chicken or grilled chicken, I never get tired of it.

Frierson: What other sports did you play growing up?

Jackson: Me and my two brothers were always outside playing whatever it was. I had a love for basketball, baseball and football all when I was young, but when I was in the fifth grade I broke my leg playing baseball. It was crazy because you think football and that’s the sport with the most contact and that’s where you’d get injured, but no, it was baseball. I collided with the left fielder, we didn’t call the ball, and then that set me back for a little bit.

I actually broke the same leg, the same two bones, in seventh grade, playing football. I had some injuries throughout my childhood but I try to tell the younger kids to play it all. Find what you love and play. The more sports you can play, the better athlete you’ll be. And if you do find that one sport that you really love, later down the road you can hone in on it.

In terms of track, that’s where my speed really came from. In the spring I didn’t want to just be laying around and working out, I wanted to be running and getting as fast as possible. I developed that and got into the hurdles and had some success there.

Frierson: How hard is it to get good at the hurdles, particularly figuring out the timing of it?

Jackson: Timing is everything. I still remember the very first day when my coach was like, “I want you to try the hurdles today.” I looked at him like he was crazy, and I’m thinking I’m going to bust my butt, I’m going to fall [laughs].

At first, I was just jumping over each one of them and my time was really slow because I didn’t know how to hit ’em. But once I got the timing, it’s really about trying to drive over the hurdle instead of jumping over it. That comes with a lot of work and you’ve got to be really flexible, too.

Working my hips going over the hurdles has really helped me for football too because you’ve got to have good hips in football. I would say one reason I was successful in the hurdles is because I had a longer stride — once I finally got it down. Not that I really ever got it.

Frierson: You talked about playing guitar in your church — do you remember the first time you got up in front of people and played? What was that experience like?

Jackson: The first couple of times I ever did it, I wouldn’t have wanted to be in the audience [laughs]. The best advice I got was to just have confidence. Whatever I’m doing, I just want to be confident. Playing the guitar, it takes a lot of practice. But you’ve also got to have confidence.

Frierson: Does that same confidence apply to showing up at Georgia as a walk-on? You had to believe you belonged or else you had no shot?

Jackson: Absolutely. When I first got here and was getting beat up on scout team, if I would have said, Oh, I’m just going to ride this out, I might not have the opportunity that I do now. I think confidence in yourself through practice is something that is huge for me.

(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He’s also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.