by Bill Seals
Overcoming a devastating injury early in his sophomore season didn’t stop a St. Louis (Mo.) area wide receiver from rehabbing hard and putting himself in front of college coaches.
Hazelwood Central junior Kayden Jackson’s hard work paid off recently with an offer from Iowa State, which would be his first from a Power-5 school.
“The day they came in to my school and offered me a scholarship to Iowa State, I had no contact with them beforehand,” said Jackson, who suffered a broken ankle in the first game of his sophomore year and missed all of 2017. “I didn’t even know they were coming to the school that day. They called me to the coach’s office and Coach (D.K.) McDonald was in there.
“We talked for about 10 minutes and he said he was offering me. He told me they liked my film, the way I play and then started giving me a little background about Iowa State. They are a really good program and are sending players to the NFL. He said they have a real supportive community and average over 60,000 fans at their home games. I loved hearing all of that.”
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Jackson recovered nicely in 2018 and hauled in 26 catches for 502 yards and six touchdowns. He also snagged a pair of interceptions on defense.
Jackson said he’s still working to get back to the level he was before his injury, while also trying to develop into a well-rounded wide receiver.
“When I got back, my leg was really weak and I worked really hard at it,” he said. “You could see my legs weren’t like they should be. With this season, you look at my film and I struggled with route running a lot, coming in and out of my cuts. I think that’s because my ankle was broken.
“I really have to work on my route running, but I think I excelled in my aggressiveness, physicality, hands and ability to go up and catch the ball. I’m also a really good blocker at the receiver position.”
Since picking up the Cyclone offer, Jackson has done his share of research into the program.
“I’ve checked out the roster and the receivers, their size, what they weigh and how fast they run,” he said. “I’ve looked into how many players they’ve sent into the NFL. I’ve looked at their past records, who they’ve been playing, who they’ve been beating and the direction of the program. It’s looking like the program is going in a great direction. I would love to come up to a spring practice at Iowa State if I get a chance to.”
Jackson said he plans to participate in the Elite Football Combine in Missouri next month and also take part in an Adidas Three-Stripe Camp. This summer, he’s planning camp stops at Kansas State and Missouri.
Overcoming a devastating injury early in his sophomore season didn’t stop a St. Louis (Mo.) area wide receiver from rehabbing hard and putting himself in front of college coaches.
Hazelwood Central junior Kayden Jackson’s hard work paid off recently with an offer from Iowa State, which would be his first from a Power-5 school.
“The day they came in to my school and offered me a scholarship to Iowa State, I had no contact with them beforehand,” said Jackson, who suffered a broken ankle in the first game of his sophomore year and missed all of 2017. “I didn’t even know they were coming to the school that day. They called me to the coach’s office and Coach (D.K.) McDonald was in there.
“We talked for about 10 minutes and he said he was offering me. He told me they liked my film, the way I play and then started giving me a little background about Iowa State. They are a really good program and are sending players to the NFL. He said they have a real supportive community and average over 60,000 fans at their home games. I loved hearing all of that.”
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Jackson recovered nicely in 2018 and hauled in 26 catches for 502 yards and six touchdowns. He also snagged a pair of interceptions on defense.
Jackson said he’s still working to get back to the level he was before his injury, while also trying to develop into a well-rounded wide receiver.
“When I got back, my leg was really weak and I worked really hard at it,” he said. “You could see my legs weren’t like they should be. With this season, you look at my film and I struggled with route running a lot, coming in and out of my cuts. I think that’s because my ankle was broken.
“I really have to work on my route running, but I think I excelled in my aggressiveness, physicality, hands and ability to go up and catch the ball. I’m also a really good blocker at the receiver position.”
Since picking up the Cyclone offer, Jackson has done his share of research into the program.
“I’ve checked out the roster and the receivers, their size, what they weigh and how fast they run,” he said. “I’ve looked into how many players they’ve sent into the NFL. I’ve looked at their past records, who they’ve been playing, who they’ve been beating and the direction of the program. It’s looking like the program is going in a great direction. I would love to come up to a spring practice at Iowa State if I get a chance to.”
Jackson said he plans to participate in the Elite Football Combine in Missouri next month and also take part in an Adidas Three-Stripe Camp. This summer, he’s planning camp stops at Kansas State and Missouri.
