When Marrell Jackson set out on his journey from Florida to Hawaii, the signs pointed to him making quick work of his pursuits academically and on the field.
"I’m a Capricorn," Jackson said, "so I’ve got ambition. I’ve got a drive. I’ve got a desire."
Jackson earned a starting position in the Hawaii secondary early in his freshman season and tied for the team lead in total tackles. He also embarked on an academic program that will have him graduate in 3 1⁄2 years with a degree in family resources and a minor in sociology.
By the time the Rainbow Warriors get into training camp in late summer, the senior safety will have just a couple of classes left to complete before picking up his diploma in December with aspirations of perhaps guiding others on a similar path as a teacher or coach.
"Anything is possible" said Jackson, a three-time academic All-Mountain West Conference selection. "With an education, you can be put anywhere. As long as you have that education, they see that on your resume, it’s a big deal."
In the more immediate realm, Jackson is studying yet another defensive scheme this spring with the arrival of Tom Mason as the Warriors’ third defensive coordinator in the last three years.
The system builds on the 3-4 base look the Warriors ran last year under Kevin Clune, so Jackson said the transition is "no big thing."
"Once you get into the system and understand the plays, football is just the same, it’s just different terminology," he said.
Jackson and junior Trayvon Henderson were first in the safety rotation on Thursday morning in UH’s penultimate practice of the spring. The strong and free safety positions are largely interchangeable and Jackson said in playing more zone concepts in the scheme, "you can get your eyes on the quarterback instead of being locked on your man."
He turned in one of the highlight plays of the session on Thursday in a team period when he tipped an overthrown pass over the middle, spun, then made a diving interception.
"Marrell Jackson is what makes college football so much fun, to see him walk away from here with a degree," UH coach Norm Chow said. "He’s had his share of injuries, he’s had his share of setbacks and has a great attitude every single day."
By his own measure, Jackson’s attitude wavered a bit last season when those injuries curtailed his playing time. Jackson started 15 games in his first two seasons, a hand injury keeping him out of two games as a sophomore in 2013. He played in 10 games last fall with one start and finished with 11 tackles.
"I was kind of frustrated and I just had a lot of stuff on my mind," Jackson said. "I was being selfish, thinking about myself. I just lost the urge a little bit but I still had the passion. When it was my time to be called I was out there doing things to help my team."
Such as a pivotal pick in UH’s final home game last November. With the Warriors trailing UNLV 14-0 in the first quarter and the Rebels threatening to pulling further away, Jackson snagged an interception in the end zone to keep UH within reach. The Warriors scored on the ensuing possession and went on to win in stunning fashion on Marcus Kemp’s touchdown catch on the game’s final play.
The injuries of the fall behind him, Jackson said he’s back to full strength this spring, approaching his training with the same verve he’s applied in the classroom to position himself to play a prominent role in the secondary in his senior season.
"Everything feels good, I’ve been in the weight room attacking my weak areas and getting them back strong," Jackson said. "If I take care of my body, my body will take care of me."
Spring wraps up Saturday
The Rainbow Warriors will close the spring on Saturday morning with their 15th practice. The final practice won’t be accompanied by the hoopla of past years, but gives the Warriors one more on-field opportunity to work on the schemes introduced this spring.
"Just another day of practice," Chow said. "We have seven healthy offensive linemen … We’ve had our knocking around, now we just want to get through practice. Today we worked on a bunch (of situations), we’ll do a bunch more (Saturday) and we’ll go from there."
UH held a scrimmage last Friday at Aloha Stadium and "we saw what we needed to see as far as that’s concerned," Chow said. "We just need to stay healthy."
Saturday’s practice is set for 10:30 a.m.
