Ohio State football: Antwuan Jackson and The Process

The Ohio State football team is sorting things out on the defensive line. Antwuan Jackson might be part of the picture there.

When Antwuan Jackson finally joined the Ohio State football program in early 2018, after a season at Auburn and another at Blinn Junior College, there was a lot of excitement surrounding him. The nation’s top junior college defensive lineman was expected to make an immediate impact for the Buckeyes. It didn’t quite happen that way. Through it all, Jackson trusted The Process.

The Process takes time and hard work. It takes a willingness to start at the bottom, do the dirty work, and gradually make progress. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson defines it this way:

"“It’s the process and that’s what the good players understand. There is a process to get to that third or get to that fourth year. You gotta do all that grinding at the bottom to reach the top.”"

Jackson has wholly bought in to what Johnson preaches. He played sparingly that first season with the Buckeyes, before appearing in all fourteen games in 2019. Although he saw the field often that year, you never got a sense the Ellenwood, Georgia native was a serious candidate to push for a bigger role.

Even at the beginning of last season, his third in the program, Jackson, was somewhat of a liability when he was in the game. The drop-off was noticeable. But, as the season progressed, you began to see a change. Jackson began to make some plays.

While it was Jerron Cage who started the national championship against Alabama in place of Tommy Togiai (you can read my article on Cage by clicking here), Jackson is the one you really noticed.

Against the Crimson Tide, Jackson looked quick and sure of himself. A completely different player from what we had seen not just early in the season, but in his OSU career. He was on the field for over half of the Buckeyes’ defensive plays, had five tackles, and the team’s only sack (the first of his career). This is the Antwuan Jackson we’d been hoping for.

Johnson recently praised Jackson’s quickness and feels it will give the defense more movement along the line of scrimmage. While he makes it clear a big guy is usually the protype you want at nose tackle and Jackson is considered small at only 300 pounds (yes, I said only), bigger isn’t always better according to Johnson, “I like bigger, but I’ll take quicker over big to make a difference at the line of scrimmage.”

College football’s best defensive line coach continued his praise by saying Jackson just gets it now, is a much smarter football player, and reads and reacts really well. If I had to pick a leader in the battle at nose guard between Jackson and Cage, I’d go with Jackson. You get the sense Coach Johnson really likes what he sees from him

Jackson, who earned his degree in human development and family science two years ago, jumped at the chance to take advantage of the NCAA’s offer of an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic. He views it as a big blessing to be able to work on improving his skills.

The journey from grinding at the bottom to where he is now has been a long one for Jackson. Now, in his sixth year of college football, he appears on the cusp of a breakout season. That’s in large part because he trusted and believed in The Process.