Lions DB inspired by Steelers great
Chance meeting with future NFL hall of famer left an indelible mark on B.C.’s Buddy Jackson
Buddy Jackson has travelled across Canada and the U.S. pursuing a football career. But it was in Pittsburgh that he found an improbable source of inspiration.
Now a defensive back with the B.C. Lions, after signing in February, Jackson moved from Florida — where he grew up — to the University of Pittsburgh, where played from 2007-11 before making numerous stops in both the NFL and CFL.
Playing his college ball in Pittsburgh and with aspirations of a pro career, Jackson had the opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of Mike Tomlin and Troy Polamalu — a “very humble dude,” said Jackson — during his time as a student-athlete.
While some universities across the U.S. can be located “in the middle of nowhere,” Jackson said Pittsburgh’s campus isn’t that far from downtown and the football team plays its home games at Heinz Field, home of the Steelers.
“It was really cool to see that. To see professional athletes. A lot of our aspirations were to take it to the next level and to see guys like Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor … it’s just inspiring to see how they go about their business,” said Jackson.
“I remember I was walking from the parking lot. I guess (the Steelers) were going to meetings and we were getting ready to go to practice. So, (Polamalu) just stopped and he was like, ‘Hey, what’s going on man?’ I didn’t know how to — you’re a college kid, you see a hall of famer stopping to say ‘what’s up?’ I talked to him for a good five minutes, introduced myself to him. Told him I was a corner. He said, ‘You’ve got good size for a corner, man.’
“To hear that from Troy Polamalu, it just touched me. He’s like, ‘Just keep working. Continue to work and … the sky is the limit. Work when no one is watching.’ I remember, that was another thing he told me. I took his words to heart.” Talk about a small world. Jackson went on to make plenty of stops in the NFL, including a training camp with the Steelers, where he joined Polamalu in meeting rooms and on the practice field.
Jackson admits the opportunity didn’t work out for him with Pittsburgh’s NFL team. But the advice he garnered during those Steel City encounters with members of the Steelers has remained with him as he has transitioned his career to Canada.
He’s appeared in 30 games during his CFL career, winning a Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders, where he spent two seasons before moving to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2016 and to the Lions in 2017 — a season in which he recorded his first CFL interception.
Off the field, the 28-year-old Jackson has found inspiration in music since his childhood days. He hopes to forge a second career as a producer once his football-playing days are over.
Jackson’s love for music started at age six. He plays the drums and the piano, though he saves that mostly for the off-season.
By age seven, he said, he was playing the keyboard at his church in Palm Beach, Fla. No formal lessons, he added, though it’s amazing what you can pick up from family members with the same artistic connections.
“It’s kind of been a God-given talent,” he said.
“My uncle and my aunt play as well. They play the piano. In church, I would watch them, I would go over as a little kid and pick up on little things … because I didn’t have any actual piano lessons or drum lessons. Like I said, it’s a God-given talent that I’m glad I have.”
This has led to a rather unique pregame tradition for Jackson, particularly when the team travels on the road.
“Any time I get a chance on the trips, I go to the hotel and ask if they have a piano somewhere lying around and I get (in some playing time),” said Jackson.
“That’s kind of my pre-game routine.”