Several months before Darrell Jackson Jr. was born, his soon-to-be uncle made NFL history.
Dexter Jackson, was the fourth-round pick of Tampa Bay in 1999 and was one of the defensive forces guiding the Buccaneers to their 48-21 win over Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVII. The Bucs returned three Rich Gannon interceptions for touchdowns that day in San Diego. Dexter had none of those pick-6s. But he had the first 2 of 5 INTs for Tampa Bay, with his first pick setting up a field goal for a 6-3 lead that the Bucs never lost.
For his coverage and leadership, Dexter Jackson was named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. He and Jake Scott of the Dolphins n SBVII are the only safeties to earn that honor, making Jackson the only safety in the past 53 NFL championships to be so named.
"Just watching him growing up, I knew he played for Florida State, and I knew I wanted to play at Florida State and follow his footsteps," Jackson, the massive FSU defensive tackle, said after also being a fourth-rounder, selected 103rd overall, by the Jets on the third day of the recently concluded NFL Draft. :"Our communication is great. He just gives me little details, just going into the league and what to expect."
As legendary as Dexter is in NFL circles, he probably didn't organize any offseason drills to prepare Darrell for the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine and the draft. Dexter, after all, was a 6-1, 203-pound defensive back. Darrell is 6-5 and is listed at 315 pounds by the Jets and at the combine, but came in at 337 for Florida State last season. His arms measure 34¾ inches, his hands, 11 inches.
"We've been saying this throughout the week, guys that have won," HC Aaron Glenn said about the types of players the Jets were seeking out in this draft. "And there's a number of different types of guys that we got. We got some huge men to play for us.
"And with DJ, with Coop [sixth-round G Anez Cooper], those guys are really good developmental linemen that we can have, to look at the guys we have and be able to learn to get better."
Darrell Jackson is ready for that test, even though he took a different road to the pros than his uncle. Darrell didn't play football until his junior year at Gadsden County (FL) HS. From there, **The Athletic detailed his journey** — he committed, then decommitted to Tennessee, committed to Maryland, played a year, then entered the transfer portal, going from the Terps to the 'Canes of Miami for a year, then re-entered the portal for FSU and home, to be nearer to his mom, who was battling a serious illness,
"I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life," he said of his scholastic days when he was contemplating his next football step. "My high school head coach, he led me to play football. I was 6-2, 190, really didn't have any guidance. He just gave me the momentum and belief to go do it.:"
He finally got to do it for the past two seasons with the Seminoles. He had to redshirt by NCAA multiple transfer rules but played one game for the 13-1 'Noles in 2023. Then the school fell back to 2-10 and 5-6 seasons, but Darrell got some of that guidance he needed to assemble 24 starts and a pair of All-ACC honorable mention seasons and get on the Jets' radar.
"I know Coach Glenn; I know they got a plan for me, just bringing that physicality," Darrell said, adding that he's bringing it "in the run game, and even with my pass rush, I can push the pocket and get to the quarterback."
And while he probably won't be breaking up or picking off any downfield passes, Darrell has learned a few things through his communications with Dexter. The day of that Super Bowl win, the uncle predicted during pregame warmups that he was going to be named the game's MVP. Afterward, what he said about teamwork said a lot to many fans, including his nephew.
"We had the No. 1 defense and nobody gave us any credit," Dexter said back in February 2003. "We felt like we were one of the strong points of the team. We just didn't get any attention. "I look at it like an expensive car. You appreciate the shiny outside exterior of the car, but you don't really appreciate the underneath stuff, like the sparkplugs. I feel like I'm one of the sparkplugs on this team."
Dexter, 48, who won a Cadillac along with his MVP Trophy, **was affectionately known as "Dirt Road"** in honor of his rural hometown of Quincy, FL. Darrell is more of a Ford F-450 Super Duty and from the same neck of the woods, Havana, FL, both a short drive from Tallahassee. The nephew just celebrated his 23rd birthday Wednesday. And he hopes to fill his uncle's footsteps on the way to a fulfilling career as a big, physical, durable member of the Jets' D-line.
