Former Trojan, Reddie takes game to next level

Henderson State offensive lineman Clifford Jackson III works to pump up the crowd during The Battle of the Ravine against Ouachita Baptist on Nov. 14, 2019. Jackson signed to play football with the Tampa Bay Tornadoes. - Photo courtesy of HSU Sports Information
Henderson State offensive lineman Clifford Jackson III works to pump up the crowd during The Battle of the Ravine against Ouachita Baptist on Nov. 14, 2019. Jackson signed to play football with the Tampa Bay Tornadoes. - Photo courtesy of HSU Sports Information

A face familiar to Hot Springs Trojans fans is taking his game to the next level.

Clifford Jackson III, a former Hot Springs Trojan and Henderson State Reddie, reports for training camp on Monday for the Tampa Bay Tornadoes, a team in the Arena Football League.

"Visualization is a really big thing for me, and I knew that I was going to go down there initially to play ball and to get my degree," Jackson said of going to Henderson State. "Kind of looking back [in] hindsight now, I never thought that it would actually get as far as it has gotten, just from coming from a small DII school. We're not The Ohio State or even Arkansas for that matter, so for small school guys like us to get an opportunity such as myself is pretty huge."

Football has always been a part of Jackson's life. Starting to play the game at age 4, he started playing with older children due to his size.

"My dad ran some hoops and hurdles to get me to actually play at such a young age," he said. "You didn't start playing tackle football until you were around 6 or 7, but I was always way bigger than everybody, so it kind of didn't matter. As a matter of fact, once I did get around 6 or 7, my parents had to carry my birth certificate [to prove my age]."

The 6-5, 297-pound offensive lineman, for as long as he can recall, has also played on the "blind side," protecting the quarterback, and until "The Blind Side" movie came out in 2009, he did not really understand the magnitude of his role.

"I'm protecting what my quarterback can't see, and me potentially having that power for my quarterback to you know get up and walk and play the next play or being in a wheelchair for the rest of his life," he said. "I know that weight on my shoulders, that pressure, that's when I perform my best, when I know what's at stake. And that's always kind of how I handled life essentially, as well. So I definitely feel like I'm in the right position at the right place at the right time, doing what I do for sure."

The trip to the next level was not an easy one. After dominating on the offensive line for the Trojans, the son of Gloria and Clifford Jackson Jr. signed to play at Henderson State, but he was told from the start that he needed to lose some weight.

"I came there my freshman year at 350 pounds, way too big," he said. "I stepped on that scale for the first time down there, and they told me, 'Hey, do you want to play football for us? We need to get you down to 285.'"

He managed to get his weight down, but he lost too much which caused some health problems that put him in the hospital just two weeks before the Reddies' season opener in 2018.

"I was actually working a little too hard, and my organs and things like that were starting to shut down on me, had a little bit of acute kidney failure," he explained. "And honestly, after hearing that, my mind just kind of you know, went blank, like 'Man, this is it.' And that was probably the lowest I've been in my life before."

The former Trojan managed to get back in good health just in time for the first game of the season, and he "started 11 straight. I never missed a game." He was named team captain for this past season, and he helped lead the Reddies to a 9-2 record.

His work did not go unnoticed as he got an invitation to play in the FreeAgentFootball.com Division II Senior Bowl in Myrtle Beach, S.C., which led to multiple offers.

"It was definitely something that I was going to have to sacrifice to get down there, but with the support of my family and everything like that I made the trip down there," he explained. "Once we were down there, met a handful of guys, some higher up people that can honestly change my life for the better."

Jackson "soaked it all in," as he heard from NFL coaches and players.

"Just being around, it was actually an exciting experience, one that I'll never forget," he explained. "As a matter of fact, ever since I got the gig I've been thinking about it every day ever since it happened to me because my life literally changed overnight. Those guys said, 'Hey, this could be your last game ever. Or you could prove something to us and you keep on playing for a little bit longer.' I took heed of what they said, and once the lights turned on for that time, apparently I handled business well enough to get offered three contracts on the spot to go play arena ball, one of them being the Tampa Bay Tornadoes."

The enormity of the experience was not lost on Jackson, who is very familiar with the statistics of players who make it to the next level.

"It's a very small percentage of guys that first off get to go play college ball," he said. "To get that next shot after that is about 0.3%. These are real statistics that I've been aware of since Henderson State. For me to become [part of] that 0.3% out of collegiate guys was just a dream come true."

Regardless of getting to go to play at the next level, Jackson is not letting it all go to his head.

"The opportunities are endless," he said. "The sky is literally the limit, so I know what I have at stake. It's not Hot Springs anymore. It's a bigger city, but I can't let those bright lights entice me. I know what I'm there for, and that's not only to change and better my life but the lives of my family and my loved ones around me. It's a lot of weight on my back, I recognize that, but I like handling the pressure."

Sports on 02/23/2020

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