'Can't Stop Now': Mike Jackson Sums Up Seahawks Journey in 3 Words
Mike Jackson's journey to becoming a member of the Seattle Seahawks' season-opening 53-man roster has been filled with bumps, bruises, and too many departures to count.
But if you wanted to count ... four. That's the numbers of times the fourth-year cornerback was either cut or traded before arriving to the Seattle practice squad last season.
His spot on this year's team was far from guaranteed. But after a strong preseason, he made a lasting impression on Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
"Michael Jackson playing football, he played great tonight," Carroll said following Seattle's final preseason game. "He made a bunch of plays and did things - physical, tough and all of that. He really just topped off a tremendous preseason for himself and I'm really fired up for him."
Carroll's fiery love for Jackson seems to be a product of the nonstop motivation the cornerback has instilled within himself. For Jackson, this motivational motor is fueled by what lies ahead.
"It’s a journey," Jackson said. "It is one of those things where I always believed there was light at the end of the tunnel. It’s just the beginning, I can’t stop now.”
Originally a fifth-round draft pick of the Cowboys out of Miami in 2019, Jackson never tried to change who he was to get to where he wanted to go.
“I was just being me, I didn’t try to be anyone else," he said. "I worked hard and prepared my body and mind. All of those mental reps that I got last year for the whole season, all of that went into play.”
Mental reps can often be an overused way of making guys on the bench feel like their time there is valuable. The success of this kind of approach might vary from player to player, but, for Jackson, it has paid off in a big way.
He played in just two games last season, totaling two tackles and two passes defended. The in-game action was valuable, but, maybe surprisingly, he expanded his reach to a different sport ahead of his preparation to make this year's team.
“I did more track workouts," he said. "I’m big on conditioning and normally I would run 100s and 200s, but I actually went to a track coach and learned how to run. There is a difference between speed and track speed, and I found that difference.”
And now, similar to the approach a runner on the track could take, Jackson is ready to go head-on into a season where "can't stop now" might be the simplest, yet valuable piece of advice he could tell himself.
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