INDIANAPOLIS - After seemingly an eternity, Kearis Jackson's Georgia career has ended.
The receiver from Peach County has been a stalwart of the receiving corps for the past five years in Athens. He distinguished himself as a leader on and off the field, leaving Athens with a pair of national championship rings.
Jackson took the stage on Friday, meeting with reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. He gave his thoughts on his career, the draft process, and more.
On what he wants to prove this week: "Mostly, all of that has shown on film. I have been able to meet with a few teams and just show who I am as a player and how I think about the game, know my instincts about the game, how do I study the game, the way I approach the game. Just knowing that I'm a smart football player, just show who I am as a player and the way I attack the game and how well Georgia has prepared me for moments like this, the way I can sit in a meeting and explain the whole defense, explain the whole offense with no hiccups and just be confident about my work and what I've learned over the past five years at Georgia."
On one game he would like to show scouts: "I would say Auburn back in 2020. But if we go by games this year, I would say the Mississippi State game or the Ohio State game. Just being the type of player that always needs to be accounted for. I can go a whole game without any catches, but I feel like I'm a clutch receiver. I can go a whole game without any catches but then, boom, they throw it to me one time and that can be a game-changing play right there for a first, move the chains situation. I feel like I'm always accountable for my teammates, always putting the team before myself. I'm a very unselfish player. Just knowing that when it's time to make a play, I know I can do it."
On seeing Nolan Smith and Robert Beal perform well at the Combine yesterday: "Very motivating. Just seeing those guys run as fast as they did pushes me to a standard I know I want to go set. Just knowing that those guys were out there pushing it to the limit, it shows what they can do and shows what Georgia has built over the past couple of years. Knowing they've put in the work in these past couple months to go out on the biggest stage and do the things that they did, it was definitely motivating. It was like a standard that was set already."
On what the past two years have been like: "It showed me what type of player I am. It showed me who I am with the ball in my hands, and it showed what type I am without the ball in my hands. I'm a team player. Like I say, I didn't have many touches these last couple of years. But cut on the tape, it feels like I had every touch every time I was out there. If it was something I did, whether I was making a block downfield or I was covering down, pushing the pile, getting those extra yards. Those stats aren't in the stat book, but if you cut on the tape and look at it, I'm out there giving as much effort as if I had the ball in my hands. It just shows I give 100 percent each and every time I'm on the field. because you only get limited chances, and you only get so many opportunities. You've got to make the best of it with the ball in your hands or without the ball in your hands."
On his favorite Kirby Smart practice story: "Oh most definitely. I would say the Florida week of the 2021 year and this past year. I can just remember when we got to team run. It was James Cook, my old roommate, and Chris Smith. The first rep of it, it was like a collision. From that moment, I knew we were ready to go play. Of course, you heard the halftime speech that Coach Smart gave us. It's been trending ever since. He knows how to get his guys going. I'm very thankful that I was able to play under him. I feel like he's one of the best coaches in the nation at what he does and how he prepares our mindset, especially like this past year how he was pretty much brainwashing us, saying that everyone thought we were going 7-6 or have a very average record. But we ended up going 15-0. We played every game like it was our last chance, like it was a playoff game. I don't know how he does it, but he does a great job of doing it."
On who to look out for in the receiving corps next year: "Yeah, the standard has already been set. Those guys would have never transferred in or committed to the school if they didn't see what guys like me, guys who came before me have done at the University of Georgia. Those guys have an opportunity in their hands to go do great things in life they never probably even imagined as far as winning championships and just being on a team that's like that. It'll prepare you for the next level as well. The coaching staff's going to always prepare you, the strength coach is going to always prepare you. There's no reason not to attend Georgia. If I was a recruit out there now, it's like, Georgia is the standard. That's what's set now. It showed back to back years, even from the previous years. Even though we came up short, it was always something that we were going out there to prove. I feel like we were in the situation now that, why not Georgia?"
On if Georgia can three-peat: "I believe so. That team last year was young. They knew what it took to get there. I feel like they've got the same guys with an addition of some early enrollees and some transfers that came in that can help out. As long as they play as a team and know the standard, and the standard has already been set, they'll be fine."
On who would win in a game between the 2021 and 2022 teams: "That's a tough question. Of course, I get into this argument all the time with James (Cook) because I talk to him the most. That was my roommate. I say, man, we set the standard, we beat Bama, all that, but we went 15-0. I always say, 15-0 versus 14-1. But in my heart, I would say the 2021 team.
