Adams: Keep an eye on Jackson

BERKELEY, Calif. — Cal junior wide receiver DeSean Jackson became comfortable in front of a camera long before he played his first football game on national television. His older brother, Byron Jackson, saw to that.

Byron, who is a freelance television producer in the Los Angeles area, began videotaping his younger brother when DeSean was only 4 years old. Based on the early videos, Byron had an inkling of DeSean’s aptitude for athletics.

John Sudsbury, Cal’s associate media relations director, can vouch for that. He has seen a Jackson brothers interview when DeSean was 5.

Byron asked DeSean when he thought he would be able to outrun his older brother, Sudsbury said.

“Tomorrow,” DeSean said in the video. “I could beat you today. I just don’t feel like it.”

Fifteen years later, DeSean feels like it. For proof, you can check out Cal’s Heisman Trophy promotional pamphlet on one of college football’s most exciting players.

The pamphlet has all the pertinent stats, the most dazzling of which is Jackson’s national-leading 18.2-yard average on punt returns last season. He also averaged 18 yards on 59 pass receptions.

But if you really want the full DeSean Jackson experience, you need to see last season’s video, which included four punt returns for touchdowns. He even managed to salvage a highlight — a 40-yard touchdown reception – from Cal’s 35-18 loss to Tennessee last fall.

Jackson, who is listed at 6-foot, 172 pounds, doesn’t look like a college football player out of uniform. He gains stature when he gets the ball.

With the ball, he can change opinions as quickly as he changes direction.

Cal linebacker Zack Follett played in a high school all-star game with Jackson. Never mind that Jackson was a Parade All-American. Follett had his doubts.

“You look at him, and he’s half the size of me,” Follett said. “I thought, ‘When he goes to college, we’ll see how he holds up.’ ”

Two seasons, 24 games, 26 punt returns and 97 catches later, Jackson’s body parts are still intact. And no one who plays with or against him wonders if he’s big enough for football.

“People will say, ‘Man, you look a lot bigger on the field,’ ” Jackson said. “My height and size don’t matter. I have a lot of heart.”

He also has a lot of speed, and the ability to make hairpin turns without taking his foot off the accelerator.

“His brakes are like that (snapping his fingers),” said Cal safety Thomas DeCoud. “He’ll be running full speed, then cut (90 degrees), not choppy.”

“If he catches the ball, he has a sixth sense about him. He’ll shake you without looking at you. He definitely has that uncanny ability to make guys miss.”

Jackson didn’t take long to convert his teammates.

“When he came in during the summer workouts (before his freshman year), he was running routes and blowing past veteran guys out there,” Cal senior running back Justin Forsett said.

Jackson’s success isn’t all about speed and athleticism. Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison is his football role model. Like Harrison, Jackson has enhanced his natural ability through attention to detail and work ethic. He also has a strong support system, which includes his parents, his brother, and a couple of older friends whom he refers to as brothers.

The “brothers,” — all of whom have college football experience — played specific roles in Jackson’s off-season work regimen. For example, Travis Clark’s role was to throw fastballs.

“He’s got a rocket arm,” Jackson said of Clark, who played college football at Utah State. “It’s like a 90-mile-per-hour fastball coming at you.”

After catching Clark’s best fastball at fairly close range, routine pass-catching is a breeze.

Jackson also sought to add weight in the off-season. That wasn’t as easy as catching fastballs.

“It’s harder than you think,” he said. “I have a fast metabolism. But I still gained a few pounds.”

The few pounds won’t matter to anyone who has seen him play. They already know he’s big enough to carry the football.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.