Drake Jackson might be Kentucky’s best center ever, but he’s not going to accept it
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Scouting the 2020 Wildcats
Josh Moore, the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com, is examining the 2020 Wildcats position by position entering the season, which kicks off Sept. 26 at Auburn. Click below to read Josh’s stories published so far.
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Pro Football Focus said he’s “the most valuable center returning to college football in 2020.”
SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic called him the best center in the Southeastern Conference this year.
Former University of Kentucky player and staffer Freddie Maggard went a step further, decreeing him the “best center in UK history.”
Drake Jackson’s aware of the lofty praise made in his name preceding the Cats’ newest season. Accepting it? That’s harder.
“I’m not claiming the title of best center ever, that’s a subjective deal,” Jackson said in a recent phone interview with the Herald-Leader. “But, of course, the recognition is cool. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. I’d be lying if I said, ‘Oh, I don’t notice it.’”
When Jackson, a former four-star recruit out of nearby Woodford County High School, arrived at UK in 2016, then-starting center Jon Toth was widely regarded as the best to ever play the position at the school, prompting some people to (mistakenly) lobby on the behalf of Dermontti Dawson, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who played at Bryan Station High School before starring at UK.
“They tend to forget that he played guard here,” Jackson said, adding, “He is the best offensive lineman to come out of UK.”
Wherever and however one decides to place Jackson in the pantheon of all-time Kentucky linemen, his constant, stabilizing presence throughout the last three year’s worth of snaps has him in the conversation regardless of how this strange season unfolds. Assuming the season is played to its fullest, he has at least 10 games to build up his résumé — in the eyes of fans and scouts alike.
“It is very cool because you grow up, in my case, a die-hard fan,” Jackson said. “That’s all I ever thought about, all I ever wanted. And now it’s here, and I see it, but I don’t let myself accept that as the end goal.”
Wall-building
Watching how Toth conducted himself day-to-day was crucial for Jackson during his redshirt freshman season. That year ended with Kentucky’s first under head coach Mark Stoops to end in a bowl appearance, a visible marker of progress that Jackson and others who would soon be stepping into the spotlight would have to continue building upon.
They did; UK has played in four straight bowls, and won its last two. The offensive line in that span has twice been a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, and has generated a teamwide brand — “The Big Blue Wall” — that excites fans as much as recruits.
Its architect, John Schlarman, is the only coach other than Vince Marrow who has been on Stoops’ staff since he arrived in 2013. Continuity across the offensive line is great — UK returns four of five starters from last year — but retaining the man behind it has been invaluable. If not for the values Schlarman instills and his detailed assessment of player performance, it’d be less a wall and more a collection of bricks.
He hands out assignment grades and technique grades after every game. Nothing less than perfect is expected in the first grade, which is a “simple” accounting of whether or not a player blocked the right guy.
“If you don’t know what you’re doing, you shouldn’t be out on the field,” Jackson said. “But there’s so much that comes with that, because a defense doesn’t line up and go straight. Especially in our conference, they do some elaborate crap. And it’s my job to see that stuff coming pre-snap and adjust our blocking assignments to handle that.”
Technique grades measures how well a block was held, if it was won or lost, etc. Jackson shoots for 100% in that department but wants to finish this season with never scoring below an 85.
“Schlarman will never give you 100,” Jackson said with a laugh. “There’s always room to improve. Really, the main goal is consistency. A consistent offensive line is a dangerous offensive line.”
Control
Making adjustments is where Jackson shines most, he said. He credited Schlarman for drilling the importance of that ability into the heads of his centers.
When he was younger, Jackson would make calls and pin others’ mistakes on those who made them. That doesn’t help anyone, he realized, and now he insists on detailing — especially to newcomers — why he makes certain adjustments during practices, so they can see the bigger picture that he’s constantly evaluating.
“If I make a call and someone doesn’t execute because they didn’t hear it, or I made it too late, or they just messed up, I try to take the time to explain to them, ‘Hey, in this situation, this is my thought process, I’m always going to make this call in this situation, or vice versa, I will never make that call in this satiation,’” Jackson said. “And I’ll say that’s on me for not explaining that beforehand. Even though maybe you should have heard the call because I made it loud and clear and we all echoed it, I’ll try to take it one step further to make sure it doesn’t happen again so that it’s not my fault or his fault, we simply don’t have that problem happen again. Because that’s the way you have to handle things. Yelling at somebody doesn’t really solve anything.”
It also took some time for him to address another shortcoming: envy. Following the 2017 season, Missouri center Trystan Castillo bested Jackson for a spot on the All-SEC Freshman Team. He watched tape of Castillo, now a member of the Baltimore Ravens, and kept telling himself there was no way that the Mizzou star was better.
That instance helped Jackson understand that he can’t control what others — fans, media, scouts, whoever — think about players who aren’t him. His time is better spent losing about 20 pounds — something he did this offseason to get quicker and have more stamina — than losing sleep over other people’s opinions.
“I can’t change what scouts think about a center from another school,” Jackson said. “I can’t change that. But I can change how they look at me. You’ve gotta control what you can control. And that’s not just for a guy trying to go to the NFL, that’s for us as a team.
“That’s what Terry’s (Wilson) doing. He’s becoming the best player he can be, he’s controlling what he can control. Guys like to get butt hurt because they’re second-team All-SEC or they weren’t All-SEC. You can only control what you can control, so do that.”
Scouting the Cats
This is the seventh of nine stories looking at the 2020 Kentucky football team position-by-position.
Outlook: Offensive line
Leading men: There isn’t a more experienced unit in the UK locker room than “The Big Blue Wall,” a finalist last year for the Joe Moore Award given to the nation’s top offensive line. It brings back four starters who’ve combined for 76 career starts, led by Drake Jackson’s 33 straight at center, and 11 total seasons of playing time. Jackson, tackles Darian Kinnard and Landon Young, and guard Luke Fortner all were named to at least one All-SEC preseason team.
Supporting cast: Kenneth Horsey appears to be the favorite to succeed Logan Stenberg in the starting lineup, though that spot could end up going to former Belfry High School star Austin Dotson. Junior tackle Naasir Watkins spelled both sides of the line last year and will be a crucial piece to the Wildcats’ equation up front. Junior college transfer Jeremy Flax didn’t enroll until the summer but should provide an immediate lift as well. Several other reserves, including another in-state product in Eli Cox (East Jessamine) might contribute. Don’t be surprised if Jackson’s immediate backup, Quintin Wilson, gets his number called a little bit, too, as the Cats look to build up their depth there.
Synopsis: There’s no way that Kentucky would be as competitive as it is now in the SEC without a front five that can go toe-to-toe with any defensive front that lines up across from it. Some of the best UK teams are remembered for their offensive skill players, but if the 2020 team manages to leave a big impression, then it’s the big men who will warrant the biggest share of the credit.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 10:28 AM.
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