Jackson ready for next chapter: NFL
Behold the power of prayer. Growing up in Las Vegas, Steven Jackson would kneel each night next to his mother, who, paraphrasing a Bible verse (Luke 2:52), would ask that her only son grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Those were merely reminders; for years earlier, Brenda Jackson would rub her stomach and utter that prayer for her unborn child. Today Steven Jackson, 20, is a man-child who is as well-grounded as he is a talented ground gainer. "He's pretty mature. He has a good upbringing," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "I think he's a solid guy." The 6-foot-1 1/2-inch, 241-pound Oregon State junior is considered the top running back prospect in next weekend's NFL draft.
"In my 20 years of living," Jackson said, "I've really seen it come to fruition."
He knew that someday it would. Consider a poem, titled "I Am," by 10-year-old Steven Jackson:
"I am a NFL running back/ I wonder if I will be great/ I hear the crowd cheer/ I see me scoring a touchdown/ I want a Super Bowl ring/ I pretend I'm a great running back/ I feel like I'm a star/ I touch the first place trophy/ I worry we won't win/ I cry if I fell/ I am a NFL running back/ I understand some will [be] greater/ I say what I mean/ I dream to be the greatest/ I try to be the best/ I hope I'll be remembered as one of the greatest/ I am a NFL running back."
Jackson used to collect football trading cards. His favorites were a 1989 Barry Sanders and an '84 Walter Payton. Jackson has been one of college football's best running backs the past two years, running for more than 3,200 yards and 34 touchdowns for the Beavers. He may be the first running back taken, possibly among the first 20 selections.
"I guess it's a big deal knowing what you want to be and actually achieving it," Jackson said.
Steve and Brenda Jackson didn't want Steven, the youngest of their three children, going the way of so many misguided boys in Las Vegas, also known as "Sin City." So they had him in church "from Sunday to Sunday," Steven said. Jackson likes to draw, and one of his contributions to the church was designing programs. "I wasn't in the choir," Jackson said, "but if I had a voice, I guarantee I would have been in it."
Jackson spoke to his church's youth congregation on Easter. There always has been a strong spiritual presence in the Jackson home. "We don't stress in my house," he said. "You put everything in your faith in God, and trust that everything is going to be all right."
Brenda Jackson is a real estate broker whom Steven calls the "backbone of the family." His father, Steve, is a retired Marine who served in Vietnam and is now a pit boss at a Las Vegas casino, and there's no question as to who the boss of the house is. "He didn't talk much," said Steven, himself a "yes, sir," "no, sir" kind of kid, "but when he spoke, everyone was quiet.
"When I think of a man, my dad is it. He provides for his family. He's been with his wife for 35 years. I think of him as the absolute best model of a father. It's something I strive to be when I settle down and have a family."
Steve Jackson's military background prevented him from tolerating what he perceived as laziness. Education was important; Steven graduated high school with a 3.8 grade-point average and maintained a 3.0 at Oregon State. So, too, was discipline. For one, Steve Jackson didn't allow his children to sleep past 9 a.m. "Or else he's knocking at your door," Steven said. "And you'd better make up your bed when you get up. You couldn't just spread the covers, if he dropped a quarter on the bed, it had better bounce."
Because of his size, running style, jersey number (34), and appearance, Jackson drew comparisons to Miami's Ricky Williams while at OSU. But Jackson's dreadlocked hairstyle is as symbolic as it is stylish. Having studied Rastafarianism, Jackson thinks of himself as a lion, and therefore a leader. And the locks also represent strength in unity.
"One string of hair isn't as strong as a bunch," he said. "It's like a family. You're stronger with the support of others than you are on your own."
He's about to be on his own, with a lot of money, a lot of fame, and a lot of temptation. Jackson, though, will not yield to it, he said.
"I feel like I'm prepared to handle it," Jackson said. "But it's one thing to say, and another thing to do it. I'm not saying I'm not going to encounter pitfalls. I'm going to go out and have fun, but I'm not going to do anything foolish and lose the love of my fans. So in some ways, I've been groomed for it."
When it ends, Jackson plans to be prepared to begin a new career. He eventually wants to get into architecture; he is a year from his bachelor's degree. He said he would have attended Morehouse College to study architecture if he weren't a football player.
"I knew I was artistic," he said. "I took a drafting class in high school and fell in love with it."
Jackson said if the Patriots have him in their draft plans, he has Harvard in his. "That might be more impressive than being an NFL player," he said.
Jackson has gone from having trouble reading as a boy to reading a book a month. He follows politics.
"I'll keep it real with you: a lot of women like brothers who read," he said. "So I'm also helping myself in that field. I'm always trying to educate myself. I'm one of those self-taught brothers. I figure it's better to know a little about a lot than a lot about one thing."
Trying to find one person to say one bad thing about Jackson appears to be an exercise in futility. Jackson embraces the task of serving as a role model at an age when many young men still need one. He is proof that athlete stereotypes do not have to be adhered to.
"It's hard to walk the straight and narrow, and kids need role models," he said. "They need to realize that it's all right to be smart, that it's possible to be a smart athlete. Kids think you have to be in the streets to have a story, that you have to come from nothing. It doesn't have to be that way."
