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Michigan State 2022 Target, Tayven Jackson: Down to Earth

Michigan State 2022 target, Tayven Jackson, wants people to know he's more than the football guy. He's down to earth.

“He (Coach Jay Johnson – offensive coordinator) said he believed in me and sees me in their offense. It was a blessing to know someone wants you in their program,” Michigan State 2022 target, Tayven Jackson said.

Those who know Jackson as only the football guy, are missing out. He’s much more than a 3-star quarterback who’s 6-5 and 185-pounds.

“We’re people too. Just because you’re a big athlete and have a big name, some people think ‘oh he’s cocky.’ People always assume. I want people to know I’m not that type of person.”

In talking with Jackson, Spartan Nation found out there’s definitely a lot more to him than football. In my opinion, football is just the beginning. He is good-hearted, and open-hearted.

Jackson said, “I’m not a hard guy to talk to. Some people at my school don’t want to talk to me because they think I’m on another level, but I don’t want them thinking of me like that. If you want to talk to me, you can come talk to me. I’m a normal person. I’m not higher than everybody else.”

He’s all about getting to know someone for who they are, beyond what is seen on the outside.

“People can always talk to me. I listen. I don’t like to make fun of people, I don’t judge if you’re bad at something, because everyone’s struggling with something. My family has always engraved in me to respect everybody because you don’t know what they’re going through. I take that to heart.”

Jackson is all about connection. Not only getting to know people for who they truly are, but he prefers connecting to others face-to-face.

“I don’t really like texting because some people can get the wrong message over text messages. Like, if you don’t send the right emoji, people think you’re mad at them. I think talking in person is a big thing in this world that people take for granted.”

He doesn’t like drama and likes to “go with the flow,” like music.

“I like to play the ukulele, the guitar, the piano; there’s a lot of instruments in my house. That’s what I like to do.”

Watching his brother play, Jackson started to play the piano at a young age.

“We got a piano randomly, I think they (Tayven’s parents) think it looks good in the house, so I thought I might as well play it, just for fun. I watch a lot of movies and actually saw the Rock playing the ukulele, so I got one and started playing. I just like the sound of instruments.”

Tayven Jackson is talented on and off the field. Better yet, he’s a down to earth guy. It’s not all about him.

“That’s one thing about me, I’ll never say in an interview anything special I did in a game. It’s not really about me. It’s not a one-player game. If I throw a good pass, it’s because the offensive line gave me time, the wide-receiver caught the ball, the running back picked up the block. It’s not just me, It’s the team. It’s a team sport, not an ‘I’.”

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