Late Army player remembered for character
The colors of Brandon Jackson’s short life filled the church in New York and helped tell his tale of “promise and purpose.”
The bright green and gold jerseys on the dozens of high school football players, just like the ones Jackson used to wear. The NYPD blue on the colleagues of his mother, Morna Davis, a police detective. The white and gray uniforms worn by 10 busloads of U.S. Military Academy cadets who made the trip from West Point to say goodbye to a teammate, classmate and brother.
Hundreds of people came together Monday at a funeral for Jackson, a sophomore cornerback killed in a one-car accident during the early-morning hours of Sept. 11 at age 20.
He was remembered for his uplifting smile and infectious confidence. For rapping 50 Cent lyrics on the school bus and inspiring teammates. For an accent that mixed Queens with a splash of Savannah, Georgia. For never giving his mom a reason to “raise her hand to him.” And for leaving her a new extended family.
“You will never have to worry years from now if this group of men will remember your son,” Academy superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen said to Davis, an Iraq War veteran of the Army reserves. “You may have lost Brandon, but you have gained about 120 new sons. And about 4,000 cadets.”
Photos of Jackson were displayed on two large video boards at the front of The Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral in the Jamaica section of Queens. They told the story “of a life barely 20 years lived, and it was jam-packed,” the Rev. Alfonso Wyatt said.
When Davis was deployed, Jackson was sent to live with his grandparents in Savannah. Jackson’s uncle, Fitzgerald Miller, said he will be buried in Georgia.
COLLEGES
University of Memphis senior Martina Rodriguez Sala has been named the American Athletic Conference Female Runner of the Week, the league office announced. Last Saturday, Rodriguez Sala helped lead the Tigers women’s squad to the championship of the 26th annual Rhodes College Invitational. Rodriguez Sala won the Rhodes College Invitational women’s individual title for the second year in a row, finishing the 5K in a time of 17:34.41.
The U of M rifle squad, ranked No. 10 in the Collegiate Rifle Coaches Association preseason poll, begins its season with two competitions this week. Memphis travels to Oxford, Mississippi, today to shoot in the Ole Miss Open and returns home to host the Tiger Open on Sept. 24. Both invitationals will take two weeks for all teams to compete.
The Gulf South Conference named Christian Brothers University senior setter Jessica Reber as its volleyball Player of the Week and freshman outside hitter Emma Lenoir as its Freshman of the Week after the Lady Bucs went 2-1 last week.
COURTS
A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that a woman accusing NBA star Derrick Rose of rape cannot remain anonymous at her upcoming civil trial. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald ruled Tuesday. The woman has only been identified in documents as Jane Doe. The Associated Press typically does not identify alleged victims of sexual abuse. The 30-year-old woman says the former MVP and two of his friends raped her in 2013 while she was incapacitated from drinking. Rose denies her claims and contends he had consensual sex with the woman.
Jadeveon Clowney is ready to shine in prime time.
The No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft failed to make an impact in his first two injury-plagued seasons. But now he’s healthy, playing well and ready for a national audience tonight when the Houston Texans visit a New England Patriots team that will likely start rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
It will be just the second time Clowney has played in a nationally televised game after he sat out three of Houston’s four night games in his first two years because of various injuries.
When asked if he’s ready to show what he can do, a big smile crept across his face.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be big for the team.”
A win would give the Texans a 3-0 start for the first time since they opened the 2012 season 5-0. Houston has been helped by an improved offense led by new quarterback Brock Osweiler and rookie receiver Will Fuller, but through the first two games the defense has been the strength of this team.
Clowney has been a key to the unit’s early success with seven tackles, including three for losses, a sack, five quarterback hits and a batted down pass. He’s doing a little bit of everything these days and the word coaches and teammates use most often to describe him is “disruptive.”
In his first two seasons, Clowney lined up as an outside linebacker in defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel’s 3-4 scheme. Since Clowney was healthy throughout training camp, it has given the Texans more freedom to use the 6-foot-5, 266-pound player in different ways, and he’s mostly played defensive end in the first two games.
Regardless of where they put him, the Texans have been impressed with Clowney’s hustle this year.
“I think he’s playing really hard,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “There are a few clips on there where he is rushing the passer, the pass gets off and he’s chasing the ball carrier down. I think the guy is playing with tremendous effort and I’ll say that about all the guys on defense.”
Clowney, who earned a reputation as a fierce pass rusher in a standout career at South Carolina, did not have a sack as a rookie but finished with 4½ last year. His first two seasons were full of disappointment for both him and the team as he played just four games in 2014 before having microfracture surgery, and missed three games and Houston’s wild-card playoff loss to Kansas City last season due to a variety of other ailments.
As he started to pile up more injuries than sacks, criticism that he wasn’t living up to his draft status continued to grow. Clowney heard it all, but said he chose to ignore it. He knows that the injuries couldn’t be helped and believes there’s only one way to quiet his detractors.
“I’m not saying nothing,” he said. “I’m just going to keep letting my game speak and just keep getting better and better week by week.”