Tony Jackson Overcomes Injury, Succeeds
11/10/2000 7:00:00 AM | Football
By Christian Ewell
Sun Staff
Nov. 10, 2000
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Tony Jackson has waited, through sprains, tears and losses.
Now, all the good things might be coming for the Maryland safety in his fourth year since graduating from Wilde Lake High School.
He is two knocks on wood - one before each of the remaining games - from getting through a season without an injury that keeps him out of action.
He is having a season worthy of all-league honors, and his coach, Ron Vanderlinden, has said so repeatedly over the past few weeks.
He is - along with his Maryland teammates - one win away from possibly his first bowl appearance, which would finish a rebuilding project that started in his freshman season.
"We started 2-9, that's as low as we can get," said Jackson, who was a nickel back as a true freshman in 1997. "That we've had the opportunity to do that was something we can take pride in."
Finally, without spring football practice in 2001, Jackson will probably play an entire season with the Maryland baseball team.
The Cleveland Indians drafted Jackson in the 32nd round in 1997. Some major-league team would have drafted him much earlier - like the fifth round - but he planned to honor the letter of intent he signed to play football and baseball in College Park.
After being named The Sun's Athlete of the Year that spring, Jackson's friends thought he should take whatever signing bonus the pro teams offered. But the star didn't believe he was ready to become a professional, and he agreed with his parents, Rich and Vernette, who both thought he needed a college education.
"We talked about it, and he decided that he would try to get a degree," Rich Jackson said of his son, who should graduate with a degree in criminal justice next fall. "He made the final decision, but we supported that decision."
Jackson was an athlete whose reputation preceded him.
"He won that athlete of the year award over me, so I figured he must have been pretty good," said linebacker Aaron Thompson (Mount St. Joseph), Jackson's roommate and another Baltimore-area player in Vanderlinden's first recruiting class.
So it was no surprise when Jackson jumped into a starting position upon arriving at Maryland. He played 10 games and intercepted two passes, including one against Florida State.
Then, two major injuries over the next two seasons interrupted the player's momentum. Six games into his sophomore season, Jackson sprained his knee, forcing him to miss four of the last five games.
It didn't take so long for Jackson's junior season to end with a broken left ankle. It came in the opener against Temple, forcing him to endure the final 10 weeks in the training room.
Jackson described it as a disillusioning experience, and he briefly considered quitting football. He had never been injured in baseball, and he hit .353 in 20 games during the 1999 season.
"He felt that football wasn't his calling," Thompson said. "He felt that the Lord was giving him a sign."
Jackson felt better about things once football season ended and recovered enough to play baseball in the fall, though a hamstring injury slowed him.
As usual, Jackson came into camp in prime shape. For a change, fate has rewarded him. There were close calls, like the shoulder injury against Temple, and the time he went down during the North Carolina State game last week. But he returned in both.
After the Temple game, "I was relieved that I was still healthy," Jackson said. Later in the year, he went on to have five straight games of 10 tackles or more and is second on the team with 86.
Last week, he came out of nowhere to knock down a Philip Rivers pass, one of the memorable plays of the season.
"I told Tony that from now on, I'm calling him Superman," Thompson said.
Said Vanderlinden: "I'm not surprised that he's playing well. But I think he's gone from being a decent player to being one of the better safeties in our conference."
Jackson is headed for a fine ending at this pace.
"I'm assuming I made the right choice," he said of the decision to forgo pro baseball and should see his first bowl game, though he recognizes peril in a 6-5 record.
"There's always going to be an if," he said. "Try to go 7-4 and guarantee it. We don't want to be left with the if."
NOTES: Sophomore right tackle Matt Crawford was lost for the season Tuesday when he injured his left knee near the end of practice. Chris Snader will substitute for Crawford, with Bob Krantz as the backup.
