When Packers Rookie Domani Jackson Was Down, HaHa Clinton-Dix Lifted Him Up

GREEN BAY – Heading into the 2025 season, Alabama cornerback Domani Jackson was considered a potential first-round pick.

By midseason, he had lost his starting job.

When Jackson was down, Alabama director of player development and former Green Bay Packers safety HaHa Clinton-Dix was there to lift him up. Jackson moved back into the starting lineup, finished the season strong and was drafted by the Packers in the sixth round last month.

“Man, the game is played between your ears – on the collegiate level and the pro level,” Clinton-Dix, a first-round pick by Green Bay in 2014, told Packers On SI. “He had a few ups and downs throughout the seasons, and the one thing I can credit him for is always staying the same person. I think it really helped his game a lot, just from a mental standpoint.

“So, just wrapping my arms around the man, telling him this is part of the game and you’re going to fight through it. You’re going to catch adversity at some point in time throughout your career. It’s always about how you handle it and how you move forward from that point. I think he did a great job of answering the adversity and still being a great person, working his ass off in practice and still having that happy emotion.”

Domani Jackson’s Up-and-Down Career

Jackson, an elite recruit and record-setting sprinter at California powerhouse Mater Dei High School, spent his first two collegiate seasons at USC before transferring to Alabama.

As a junior in 2024, he had two interceptions, nine passes defensed and allowed a completion rate of just 48 percent, according to Sports Info Solutions. By midway through his senior season, though, he had been pulled out of the starting lineup.

“When people point the finger at you, it’s kind of hard,” Clinton-Dix said. “You kind of go into a hole, but I never saw that from him. I like to call it ‘cancer players.’ He was never one of those players, and that’s what I really liked about him and that’s what I really wanted to see from him.”

Cornerback Domani Jackson runs the 40-yard dash during Alabama pro day. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After coming off the bench in five of the next six games, Jackson returned to the lineup for the final three games of the season. In games against Oklahoma, Georgia and Indiana, Pro Football Focus charged him with 7 receiving yards allowed.

How did he avoid falling in that hole?

“It’s not easy, right?” Clinton-Dix responded. “Like I said, the game is played between your ears. You’ve got to have the mental mindset to understand, to unlearn and relearn, and have the mindset that, ‘I can get better. This is what I got to improve on.’

“You got to look at the man in the mirror. I think he did a good job of looking himself in the mirror and figuring out where he could get better as an individual, and that’s being more detailed, being more intentional. These are things he was saying to me, because I asked him what he needed to work on instead of me just blaming a bunch of sh**. I wanted to hear what he had to say about it. He pinpointed everything, and that’s called ‘adulting’ to me. That’s called taking accountability.”

After he was drafted, Jackson said “HaHa .. became a brother to me” and they had “real-life conversations” during those tough times.

Perfect Fit for Domani Jackson

Clinton-Dix said Jackson had “always been one of my guys,” so they talked frequently during Jackson’s two seasons with the team. Those conversations included Clinton-Dix’s time with the Packers.

So, that Jackson was drafted by the Packers following a tumultuous final season seems fitting.

“It meant a lot to me because I know what the kid works for,” Clinton-Dix said. “I know why he came to Alabama. I know what he’s passionate about, I know what he works for, and I know he loves football.

“I’m just excited to see him live out his dream. As soon as he got drafted, he called me and asked me what to expect. I just told him, ‘Man, go in there with your head down, be ready to work, answer the questions the correct way.’”

The football-only atmosphere in Green Bay should help.

“Now he’s going to be breathing and living football,” he continued. “He gets to dive more into the playbook and be more of a pro, and I think that’s really going to help him out a lot. And then being in that Green Bay culture — a lot of great guys who love the game, a lot of married men who come from humble backgrounds and are willing to work and be open — I think it’s a special place to start a career and play for a long time.”

Clinton-Dix, who intercepted 16 passes in six-plus seasons, has been around NFL and NFL-caliber players for a long time. He knows what it takes to get to the NFL. And what it takes to stay there.

From his perspective, why will Jackson have a successful career?

“For one, he loves the game, right?” Clinton-Dix said. “It’s hard to find players who actually love the game. People love what comes with it, but they don’t actually love the game of football. This kid loves the game of football. He has all the attributes to be the best player on the field.

“It’s up to him at this point. He’s got to start over again. It’s not college anymore, so you have to unlearn and relearn again. He loves the game of football. He’s a team player. And he just wants to play football.”

The adversity he went through at Alabama, which is something general manager Brian Gutekunst pointed to after the draft, should pay dividends.

“I didn’t start making mistakes and facing adversity until I got to the NFL because I played on such a dominant team,” Clinton-Dix said. “He got to face adversity early. And I think it’s going to really help him develop and continue growing as an individual. I’m excited to see him play.”

My favorite interview from this year's college coaches is Alabama's Maurice Linguist talking about how sixth-round pick Domani Jackson lost his starting job last season (and, more importantly, how he responded). ⬇️https://t.co/yzJ7Z6zr6e
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) May 5, 2026

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