Josh Jacobs’ Brother Conquered Incredible Adversity on Way to NFL Draft

Hard times create strong men.

Isaiah Jacobs, the brother of Green Bay Packers star Josh Jacobs, is as strong as they come.

In 2023 against Tulane, the Alabama-Birmingham running back rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns. It was the best day of his college career. After the game, his knee started to ache. He got it checked and learned that he had played through a torn ACL sustained early in the game.

In 2024, he suffered a season-ending foot injury against Navy.

“I had to deal with some season-ending injuries,” Jacobs, who hopes to join his brother in the NFL by the end of next weekend’s draft, told Packers On SI. “I don’t think it compares to a lot of stuff that we had to face in life at all.”

No, it doesn’t.

After their parents divorced, Josh, Isaiah and their three siblings lived in Tulsa, Okla., in their father’s apartment, which had no furniture. When Marty Jacobs lost his job, they split time between his Ford Taurus and whatever cheap hotel room they could afford.

“We definitely had extreme challenges and a lot of adversity that we had to face growing up early with poverty and our environment in which we grew up in,” Jacobs said.

Isaiah Jacobs and Josh Jacobs pose for a photo at the Josh Jacobs Football Camp. | Photo courtesy of Chad Wiestling

They didn’t have much – he didn’t have his first bed until he was a sophomore in high school – but they had each other.

“A lot of times when we were a child, we were just happy that we were all together,” he said. “We didn’t really feel any different than any of the other kids. But then as time continued to persist on, we matured and quickly realized that how we were living was very different from others around us.

“But for a certain period of time, time, it definitely was just like, you know, we’re all together. I think that was the main focus. And then, like I said, as you get older, you start to realize how difficult the situation really is.”

Not Slipping Through the Cracks

Hard times can lead to hard life choices. Like Josh, Isaiah made the right choices along the way. How did he do it, when so many other kids in similar circumstances do not?

“The only thing that I can tell you is probably just our parents,” he said. “They kept us with a good head on our shoulders and made sure we stayed in sports. And God and his blessing, His coverage, His grace over us. You know, because like you say, how we grew up, you know, a lot of kids definitely slipped through the cracks, whether it’s dead or in jail.

“To be where we are right now is nothing short of a blessing. And thank God to the right people, the people along the journey that happened to be around us, that prepared us to be where we are, and then also having the willpower to press our way through the adversity and to not be weak-minded and to be able to accept the challenges and life challenges that came along the way.”

As was the case for Josh, football became Isaiah’s path to a better future.

Jacobs led Owasso High School to an Oklahoma state championship in 2017, a semifinal appearance in 2018 and another championship in 2019. He was the No. 6 player in Oklahoma and the No. 35 running back in the nation.

With “Jacobs” emblazoned across the back of his jersey, there could have been immense pressure to follow in the footsteps of a running back who won a national championship at Alabama and was a first-round pick by the Raiders in 2019.

UAB Blazers running back Isaiah Jacobs runs through a defender against Arkansas. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Jacobs heard the comparisons but never felt a burden.

“I didn’t feel the pressure,” he said. “I think that I’ve always carved my own lane. Even with my brother and his success and how great he is, I definitely had to go through my own challenges to continue to follow through my own route to get me to this point.

“So, if anything, it was a blessing more than pressure. It wasn’t really like a thing, like a shadow. It was more of a thing that, due to his success, his good character, it actually helped in a lot of ways.”

Jacobs was a hot recruit and picked Maryland, which was coached by Mike Locksley, who was his brother’s offensive coordinator at Alabama. After two quiet years with the Terps, he hit the transfer portal. Power-conference schools were interested but issues with his transcripts forced him to transfer to Independence Community College in Montgomery, Kan.

After one season there, he transferred to UAB for the 2023 season. It was a chance to reignite his NFL aspirations. He was voted a team captain but suffered the ACL injury in the fifth game of the season. Next came the season-ending foot injury in the fourth game of the 2024 season; a month later, he was named a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.

Those were hard times. But Jacobs is a strong man.

“Thankfully, we did face those adversity challenges growing up,” he said. “That’s what helped me be able to not even see those things as great challenges and to be able to continue to bounce back and be resilient and continue to come back from significant injuries like those.”

But didn’t it dawn on him that one setback after another might have ruined his chances of joining his brother in the NFL?

“No, not at all,” he said. “Man, I’m extremely optimistic. I believe that with enough time and opportunity that I’m going to get exactly where I need to be and I’m going to achieve whatever it is. And as long as I have that timetable and as long as I get that opportunity, I think that that’s all I need.”

Jacobs stayed healthy in 2025. In a part-time role, he carried the ball 79 times for 342 yards and four touchdowns and added 15 receptions for 82 yards and another touchdown.

UAB running back Isaiah Jacobs fights for yards during a game last season. | Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Next Challenge

Up next is the NFL Draft. He’s up to about 230 pounds in making the transition to a Kyle Juszczyk-style fullback who can run the ball, catch passes, block and play special teams.

“I’m excited. I’m excited. I’m definitely excited,” he said. “I love the idea of that, and I know that I have something that I could definitely bring to the table.”

He’s talked to the Packers, and he and Josh have “definitely” talked about the idea of sharing the backfield together.

“It would be very exciting to be lead blocking for my brother, man, or just even to be on the same team competing with each other and pushing each other daily,” he said. “To be able to go have the story of probably being the first running backs from our state to be in the NFL together, that would be a story.

“The fact that we came from where we came from and to be able to take the field and try our best to continue to bring that great legacy that the Packers have would be amazing.”

Hard times make strong men. Jacobs faced one challenge after another and persevered.

The payoff will be coming.

What will it mean to get that call from an NFL team willing to give him a chance?

“I think what it’s going to mean is exactly who God is in my life,” he replied. “I think He’s going to get the glory in it. I think it’s really going to fall down to just how He knows the battles that I had to endure, both privately and publicly. And to be able to get to a moment like that, I would have never, never been able to get to this level, to this moment, without Him. And that’s for sure.

“So, I think that, honestly, it’ll be just a surreal moment. A happy moment, of course, but I think it really would just be like a, ‘Wow.’ Like, I can’t believe a lot of stuff that I got through. But I know that with faith and with time, I did. So, it’ll be an exciting day.”

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