Hard work pays off for Hogs' Jackson

When Colton Jackson committed to Bret Bielema, both were relatively unknown commodities.

Jackson was soon-to-be a junior at Conway High School in July 2013 and had yet to start a high school football game. Bielema had yet to coach a game for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

They've both grown into their current roles. Bielema has spent the past two years building the Arkansas program into one that emphasizes offensive linemen, while Jackson has grown into a left tackle with the qualities of those Bielema has recruited.

Now, after a lengthy wait, Jackson is on campus, trying to edge himself into a deep group of offensive lineman.

"I want to be on their level," Jackson said of the Razorbacks' offensive line group that includes four starters signed by Bielema. "But they worked just like I have to work. It's a privilege to be with them."

If Jackson would have chosen a different road a few years ago, though, he wouldn't have gotten the chance.

When Jackson was a ninth grader, he played basketball and football. He was 6-4, about 250 pounds, and Wampus Cats football Coach Clint Ashcraft thought he might choose posting up in the paint over the left side of an offensive line.

"We used to tell him, 'See what you think, if you get to be a junior and senior and want to focus on basketball, we understand that,' " Ashcraft said.

It never got that far. Jackson spent the summer after his freshman season in the weight room and from the time his freshman football season ended and his sophomore season began, he grew two inches and put on about 50 pounds. As a 6-6, 300-pound sophomore, Jackson still didn't have a starting spot, but coaches began to take notice.

He received an offer during a camp at Arkansas in July 2013 and committed a day later, becoming the third commitment in the Razorbacks' 2015 class.

"I already knew that I wanted to go to Arkansas," he said. "It didn't make sense to wait it out until my junior year or my senior year."

So Jackson committed and he said he didn't respond to recruiting letters and the few calls that came over the next two years. Ashcraft said he remembers handing Jackson a pile of recruiting letters one day at school, then watched as Jackson dumped them in the trash can.

"He never wavered," Ashcraft said.

Jackson said he didn't even as Arkansas went through a 3-9 season in 2013 and a 4-5 start last year before finishing 7-6 with a bowl victory over Texas. Jackson said he wasn't looking for affirmation from the program he chose, but he was pleased watching a ground-based offense led by a big offensive line unfold.

"You could see it," he said. "Going from when I was a sophomore and their record wasn't that good and then last year, teams that we blew out. You could tell that it's going to be pretty special in the next couple of years."

During that time, Jackson worked on himself, too. With the size of an SEC lineman, Jackson labored to improve his play on the field. He started his first high school game when Conway beat Bryant to open the 2013 season, and Ashcraft said he saw him improve over the next two seasons.

"He blew up weight wise and then he made the comment to us, saying, 'I know I've got to work on my technique. I know I've got to get better,' " Ashcraft said. "I think he just kind of committed himself to trying to improve at what his position required of him."

Jackson is now doing everything he can to show Arkansas' early offer was justified.

He arrived on campus in June and has spent the time since trying to get used to a playbook more complicated than high school and making over his body. He said he's fluctuated this summer between 307 and 311 pounds and would like to stay there, but rebuild his body rather than add on to it.

He said he models his physique after Razorbacks lineman Frank Ragnow, who is 6-5 and 311 pounds. That means a summer of less pizza and ice cream and more salads and grilled chicken.

"Frank, he's 311 or 312 and he doesn't even look it because he's lean," Jackson said. "I'm trying to get like that."

Sports on 07/24/2015