THOUSAND OAKS, CA — Desean Jackson is authentically Los Angeles, not only being born and raised in the city but a point to where his football career all began. On Sundays Jackson looks to play his home games at SoFi Stadium, just a few blocks from where he discovered his love and talent for football near Darby Park in Inglewood.
Jackson’s football career took while playing at Long Beach Poly and became one of the most sought after high school recruits in the city. He eventually committed to Cal-Berkley and eventually made his childhood dream come true once he was drafted into the NFL. Now a 14-year veteran, Jackson has brought his talents home to the Rams and is already thinking of championship aspirations.
“First day I came here, man, I could see there was something different about this team. The camaraderie, the mentality, you could tell it’s something special,” he said. “I’ve been on teams where certain individuals had contract issues or personal issues or had a situation with the GM or a player. When you come here, you don’t feel none of that. You feel like everybody’s on the same page, everybody has one common goal.“
Jackson continues to build chemistry with new quarterback Matthew Stafford, as well as the receiving core composed of Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and rookie Tutu Atwell. Many have compared Atwell to a younger version of Jackson.
“It’s good for him to have guys like myself, Rob and Coop just to see the example we set when we step on the field,” Jackson explained. “Being able to be a mentor at this age… playing this game for so long going through what I’ve went through and experienced what I’ve experienced.”
Being an elder statement on a well balanced team is nothing Jackson is shying away from, yet fully embracing it and the responsibility that comes with it.
“Definitely have a lot to give back to these guys, for Tutu [Atwell] it’s huge for him and focus on the things he needs to do to be a better wide receiver. The NFL is totally different, he has the intangibles and he works extremely hard and has a very explosively side to his game. He’s kind of similar where he’s deceivingly fast where people won’t expected because he’s a smaller frame guy.“
Jackson also referred to this Rams team as a “scary group”, yet can surprise quite a few people this season on both ends of the ball. He appreciates and respects head coach Sean McVay, as McVay has echoed the same.
“The only thing I can say has changed about him is he’s got a lot smarter. And he already was smart,” Jackson said.
McVay has always praised Jackson for not only his skill set but his high football IQ.
“Fortunately, because of our pre-existing relationship, if I’ve changed the vernacular or verbiage on some things, I can say, ‘Hey, what you knew as ‘NASCAR’ is now ‘spear,’” McVay said.
Jackson has his eyes set on finishing his career on top and hoisting up the Vince Lombardi trophy in the city he calls home.
