Once Homeless, 'Underdog' Freshman Jayden Jackson Credits His Mother for His Success at Oklahoma

The Sooners' first rookie to start at defensive tackle since Tommie Harris in 2002 has overcome incalculable obstacles and impressed his coaches and teammates.

Oklahoma defensive lineman Jayden Jackson / Jayden Jackson via Twitter/X

NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables calls defensive tackle Jayden Jackson “abnormal.”

Even that is a bit of an understatement.

“Just an underdog, doing underdog things,” Jackson’s mom, Alberta Jackson, told Sooners On SI. “I think he’s always been fighting since he was little.”

Friday night’s season opener against Temple kicks off at 6 p.m., but as it stands, Jackson this week is expected to become the first Sooner freshman to start at defensive tackle since Tommie Harris’ spectacular debut in 2002. According to OU historian Mike Brooks, he’ll be just the fourth freshman to do so in a Sooner uniform, joining Harris, Corey Callens in 1997 and Marcus Lowe in 1987.

Abnormal, indeed.

“It’s just an amazing opportunity that I’ve been blessed with, especially being a freshman,” Jackson said this week. “But that job isn’t really secured. You know, we have a bunch of depth. And a bunch of guys continuously working. So it’s not there yet.”

Jackson grew up in Utah and Indiana, raised by his Samoan mother, watched over by his big brothers, big sister and Aunt Cathy — and always showing maturity, lots of love, and of course, precocious football skills.

“He’s always played up (above his age group),” Alberta said, “not just because he was bigger, but I think it’s because he was more advanced.”

With that assessment, Venables agrees wholeheartedly.

“He’s got a great deal of maturity,” Venables said. “He is mature beyond his years, very focused, driven, ambitious. He shows up, puts the work in every single day. He’s a model of consistency with his habits, his mindset. He has great mental and physical toughness.”

Jackson said he gets his work ethic from his mother.

“Definitely my mom,” he told Sooners On SI during a post-practice interview Monday. “I’ve been through the bottom of everything with her and everything she’s done. She’s sacrificed so much to get me where I am. I’m so thankful for her — and my older brothers. They were there for me. They were my father figures. They were my dads that I didn’t have. So them being there, influencing me, it kind of shaped me into who I am, it made me who I am today.”

Brothers Weylin, Maunaloakelani and Isaac and sister Noelani all did their part raising little Jaylen while Alberta was bringing home paychecks from her various jobs working with kids in group homes, at car dealerships or in “medical things,” she said.

There were times the family didn’t have a roof over their heads, so Alberta pitched a tent in nature and told the kids they were just camping among the many splendors of Utah.

“With the struggles with our family, with not having a home at times and things like that, I tried to shelter him and my younger kids from it,” she said, “but my older two, my daughter and my son, know the struggle. So, you know, there’s been times we haven’t had much.”

She and Jayden’s dad were divorced while she was carrying Jayden, she said, so the struggle became real. 

But the family always had each other. Jayden always leaned on his siblings, whether he knew it or not.

“That's who he had to look up to,” Alberta said. “You know, I work, so a lot of times they were by themselves or, you know, they fend for themselves. Yeah, we struggled here and there. But when you're down, doesn't mean you're down. You can always get up. You know what I mean?”

Alberta and the family eventually migrated from Utah to Indiana, first to Lebanon, then to Brownsburg. Both cities sprawl to the northwest out of Indianapolis, not far from the famous speedway. It was a setting where a rambunctious young Jayden could begin to display some of that innate maturity.

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It didn’t fully take root, however, until he “tagged along with my cousin,” Tana Alo-Tupuola, and left home to attend IMG Academy, a sports-based high school academy set in Bradenton, FL.

“It was pretty crazy, man,” Jackson said in March. “I had no structure. I had no time management. I was consistently being lazy — here and there. I didn’t have a routine. So going there, the structure, the routine, it shaped me into who I am now. I feel as if I had went to my old school (Brownsburg), I wouldn’t have gone to where I am now.”

Now, of course, he’s in Norman — and so is his entire family, mom, brothers, sister, Aunt Cathy (“she’s like another mother figure,” Alberta said) and his 4-year-old niece. They all moved from Brownsburg to Norman this year to be closer to Jayden and watch up-close his new life as a big-time college football player. 

When the Sooners and Owls kick off at 6, Jayden will have pretty much the same cheering section he had in high school and youth league ball.

“It's funny,” Alberts said, “because they were pretty strict on him, and he knows it. But like, even throughout his whole football career or anything he does, he looks for me in the stands — but those two or three, that’s who he looks to for approval.”

Jackson was asked about his place in OU history, becoming the fourth freshman and the first in 22 years to start at d-tackle, and he naturally downplayed it. He said he stays off social media — but then he did acknowledge Harris and his accomplishments as a freshman in 2002.

“I’ve seen a little about that,” he said with a smile. “Like I said, the job really isn’t (won), in my eyes. … It’s nothing really. Just a blessed opportunity.”

Jackson’s next opportunity came as an IMG recruit. Playing next to 5-star d-tackle and Oklahoma native — and current Sooners teammate — David Stone, Jackson earned All-America honors, played in the Polynesian Bowl and was eventually named his team’s Defensive MVP as the Ascenders went undefeated.

At 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds, Jackson had virtually every offer, including Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, USC, Texas and more. But he quickly took a liking to OU defensive line coach Todd Bates. 

He got his offer from OU in March 2023, then took his five official visits in successive weekend trips to Florida, Ohio State, Miami, OU and Texas in June. 

He left Norman wanting to commit that day.

“It was a surprise that we ended up in Oklahoma, actually,” Alberta said. “I’ve heard of Oklahoma. I mean, everyone’s  heard of Oklahoma. It’s Oklahoma. But we didn’t know nothing about it, other than we came, we met coaches, just talking to them, them talking to us. You could just see Jay light up, like, you know, things are clicking, and thoughts are going. And they're actually amazing men, Bates, (Miguel) Chavis, Coach Venables — everyone that we met. 

“Jay says, he was like, ‘Mom, I think I found my school. I think I might come here.’ I’m like, ‘I get that, Jay, but you got to keep your word and go on your last visit. You’ve got to see this process through. So that's what we did.”

Jackson took that visit to Texas and knew immediately he wanted to be at Oklahoma. He committed to the Sooners three weeks later.

“It was different,” Alberta said. “You could feel how genuine they were. That's what I liked about it. Their SOUL Mission was awesome. The people of SOUL Mission were awesome. Just the conversation wasn’t transactional, I think, is what caught Jay, you know?”

“This decision was everything I’ve ever wanted, everything I’ve needed — faith, family, football,” Jackson said. “I know you guys have heard me say this multiple times but it’s carried on throughout, the coaches being the same exact people that they were before they even recruited me. This decision was everything I expected coming in for sure.”

Jackson started in the Red/White Game in April, but that was just a spring scrimmage. Bodies are in and out, precautions are taken, and freshmen often get an extended look. But spring was no fluke. If Sunday’s depth chart holds true, he’ll start the season opener against the Owls — and make history.

One might think that Jayden told his mom he was down to start — over dinner, maybe, or on with a phone call. Perhaps even a text message.

Never happened.

“No, I actually found out on Twitter,” she said. “Yes,

I was surprised that — yes. I found out on Twitter. He didn't tell me. I don't even know if he knew. 

“But naturally, I'm not surprised. Because of how hard he works and his mentality of always being overlooked. ‘You give me whatever, and I’ll take it, and I’ll work hard, hard at it. I’ll earn every — whatever it is I’m doing. That's how I taught my kids. You go after it. If you want it, you go after no matter what. No one can tell you no but yourself. So that's why I’m not surprised. 

“But at the same time, hey, this is a hard, hard position to play, and to start as a freshman, defensive tackle, that’s amazing. That’s a blessing in itself. So you know, he doesn’t take that for granted.”

“Oh, I'm just so very proud of him. He's blessed in so many ways, and he’s fought from the bottom.”

“There’s a lot to build from,” Venables said. “There’s a willingness to put the work in. He’s got great humility and respect for what it takes to be successful. He shows up and makes everybody around him better. He’s a really good teammate. He’s incredibly coachable. 

“He’s really a coach’s dream.”