Jackson delivers happy returns
Coaches at Mountain Heritage High School knew the damage Martese Jackson could inflict, so they gambled that a high, short kickoff could keep the ball from the future Argo.
But Jackson snagged the ball anyway, then bounced to his left, spinning out of two tackles and stepping through a third before accelerating through an opening.
Half a field later, Jackson scored. Seven seasons after that, the play looks like a metaphor for the Asheville, N.C., native’s pro career.
After a year out of football and another on Montreal’s practice roster, Jackson erupted for 357 return yards and a touchdown against Winnipeg last week. The game earned him a CFL top performer honour, largely because he has approached his career the same way he handled that short kickoff against Mountain Heritage.
He stayed on his feet, stayed patient, and struck when he saw an opportunity.
“I’ve got to take advantage of every time I step out there,” said Jackson, a 25-yearold Florida Atlantic University grad. “That’s my mindset. It’s time to go. It’s time to work. It’s time to make sure I do everything perfect.”
Argos general manager Jim Popp says he wanted to play Jackson last season in Montreal, where Popp served as GM and Jackson was return man Steph Logan’s understudy.
Popp met Jackson at a tryout camp in Mooresville, N.C., just before the 2016 season. Though the five-foot-six, 192pound Jackson played tailback in junior college and saw limited playing time at FAU, Popp envisioned him as a standout return man.
But Logan still held that job in Montreal, and racked up 2,382 total return yards last season. Given those stats, Popp could only preach patience to Jackson.
“The plan was to get him in during the back half of the season,” Popp said. “The day (Montreal) let him go I called him and said, ‘Man, I’ve got a job for you. Get over here.’ ”
After signing Jackson in May, the Argos unleashed him on the Bombers, whom he torched for a first-quarter punt return touchdown, and another long return in the second. An apparent kickoff touchdown was called back on an illegal block, though replays appear to show the would-be tackler falling on his own.
Jackson’s outburst might have shocked the Bombers, who signed him in 2016 then cut him before camp. But none of it surprised Argos special teams coach Kevin Eiben, who had also been eager to see Jackson in a game situation.
“We saw him break (a big return in the pre-season). There wasn’t much space there but he found a way,” Eiben said. “That’s what you want to see: guys who are willing to work (and) even though there’s not an opening, they find one. He has that kind of knack.”
The rest of the league is learning just how fast Jackson is. He dabbled in track at Asheville’s Clyde A. Erwin High School, winning a county title over 100 metres as a senior.
Coaches say Jackson’s success doesn’t come strictly from his speed, but how he sets it up and deploys it. His past as a tailback allows him to see blocks developing, while he has the balance and co-ordination to change directions, accelerate quick- ly, then finish long plays with raw speed.
“He never loses speed on his cuts,” Popp said. “That’s not common. When you see people who can do that, then you’ve got to try to develop them.”
Popp says the Argos would love to find new ways to utilize Jackson, who rushed for 1,100 yards in junior college.
While Popp cautions that adding Jackson to the offence might sap the explosiveness that makes him a special teams threat, Jackson remains open to doing more.
“If they put me in the offence I’ll do whatever they (want me to) do,” Jackson said. “But as far as right now, I’m just focused on what the coaches want me to do for the team, because it’s all about the team.”