Catching Up With JAMES JACKSON

Although a highly gifted signal-caller at Mitchell-Baker High School (now Mitchell County) in Camilla, Georgia, James Jackson was a high-school senior when the state was regarded as having a “bumper crop” of quarterback prospects. In 1984, of the 30 top college prospects in Georgia according to the Atlanta Constitution, a staggering 12 were quarterbacks. Of the 12, Jackson was ranked 10th and, of the five that would sign with the Bulldogs, he was ranked fifth. Nevertheless, Jackson would accomplish more during his Georgia career than all the rest, although his success wouldn’t come without a few bumps in the road.

After being repeatedly moved to positions other than quarterback, and coming an eyelash away from leaving the program, Jackson became Georgia’s first African-American annual starting quarterback in 1985. In four years, including three as a starter, he passed for 3,416 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 1,359 yards and 15 touchdowns. Jackson remains today arguably the greatest dual-threat quarterback in UGA football history.

Jackson had a knack for performing well in bowl games. In four bowls, only one of which resulted in a loss for the Bulldogs, Jackson completed 39 of 69 passes for 527 yards, while rushing for 147 more yards and three touchdowns. More so, he was named the Offensive MVP of both the 1986 Hall of Fame Bowl and the 1987 Liberty Bowl and the overall MVP of the 1984 Citrus Bowl—a game where Jackson came off the bench in relief.

Originally published in February 2016 and updated April 2020, UGASports revisits our interview with James Jackson from his home in Douglasville, Georgia:

UGASports: James, you signed with the Bulldogs along with four other quarterbacks in 1984. Was there a school during your recruitment which was a close second to Georgia?

Jackson: You could say Florida State was actually kind of/sort of my first choice. Tallahassee was close to home (60 miles south of Jackson’s hometown of Camilla, Ga.). Also, Auburn was another one I thought about.

UGASports: What was it about Florida State which ultimately turned you off?

Jackson: They were very upfront with me when I made my visit there and said they weren’t recruiting me as a quarterback. They wanted me for my athletic ability. After that, I just decided it wasn't the school for me. In fact, for my visit, I went down there on a Friday, heard I wasn’t being recruited to play quarterback and left that night—didn’t even complete my visit. Wayne McDuffie (assistant at FSU at the time; Georgia assistant 1977-1981 and 1991-1995) was the coach recruiting me, and I told him that I really appreciated their honesty but wherever I go, I wanted to at least have the opportunity to play quarterback.

UGASports: So, why did you decide to become a Bulldog?

Jackson: I guess Georgia wound up being top-notch for me primarily because of Ray Goff. I started seeing him at our games beginning in the ninth grade when he was at South Carolina (Goff was an assistant coach for the Gamecocks in 1979 and 1980). We were playing Mary Persons (1980 state semifinals), and Coach Goff was recruiting a big running back for them. We lost to Mary Persons, but as I was walking off the field, Coach Goff said to me, “You’re going to be a good one. I’m going to come back and see you.” You know, I’m just in ninth grade, so I just about lost my mind. Sure enough, he did come back the next year but this time, instead of a South Carolina shirt, Coach Goff was wearing one for Georgia. And, I always had been interested in Georgia, so I thought that was a good sign.

UGASports: Did Georgia indicate that you would get the opportunity to play quarterback?

Jackson: It was told to me that I’d get a chance to play the quarterback position. And, like I said, that was my biggest thing: Wherever I go, just give me the opportunity to play quarterback. If I don’t make it, or someone beats me out, that’s fine. But, at least give me an opportunity. And, I was told that I would get a shot, and Georgia stood by that.

UGASports: Still, during fall camp of your freshman year, you were the Bulldogs’ third or fourth-string quarterback and a second-team cornerback behind standout Tony Flack. In addition, coaches had you lined up running kicks back because you returned a kickoff for a touchdown in a scrimmage.

Jackson: (Laughing) Yes, during that time, things were complicated. I definitely bounced around: quarterback here, cornerback there, sometimes running back, and there was always something which kept moving me from position to position. But the bottom line was when I finally was given that opportunity to show what I could do at quarterback, I would always “shine” over how I performed at any other position.

UGASports: In game five of the 1984 season against Ole Miss, starting quarterback Todd Williams was hurt early in the second quarter, and in his relief was not you but redshirt freshman David Dukes. Because of this, you literally packed your bags to leave school following the Ole Miss game, right?

Jackson: Yes, I admit, there was a time when I did [pack my bags to leave]. And, I called my mom right afterward and just told her, “I’ve had enough.” At the time, I just felt that Georgia wasn’t going to give me a fair shot to play quarterback (notably, the Tuesday prior to the Ole Miss game, Jackson had again been moved from quarterback to backup cornerback). But my mom was one of those don’t-just-give-up-like-that types. She told me to just keep on doing what I was doing, work hard, and my time will come. She said that maybe not now, maybe not next week—whenever—but my time will come. But more so, she said that when my time does come, I need to be ready. So because of my mom, I hung right in there.

UGASports: Whether backing up Dukes or Williams, you saw action in a few games prior to the Citrus Bowl against Florida State. It was then that you came off the bench for an injured Williams and was named the bowl’s overall MVP. How do you go from packing your bags in mid-October to being named the Citrus Bowl’s MVP just a little over two months later?

Jackson: Again, I give all the praise to my mother. If she hadn’t talked to me the way she did, I probably would have been on a bus out of Athens that next day. She allowed me to find myself again—to stand in there and be extra strong—and wait it out because she said my time would come. After talking to her, my attitude was that I couldn’t let her down. I was going to go out and now work three or four times harder than I ever had. I thought, I’m going to show [head coach Vince Dooley] and the rest of this staff that this quarterback position is where I need to be.

When I played against Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech, I didn’t make many mistakes and appeared real comfortable at quarterback. So, going into the Citrus Bowl, although I’d be backing up Todd [Williams], Coach Dooley told me that I would play no matter what, so I’d better be ready. Lo and behold, me playing came earlier than everyone expected when Todd got hurt. But I’d prepared myself, so I was ready to play some football.

UGASports: You would be Georgia’s starting quarterback for the next three seasons (1985-1987) and, although not the first African-American quarterback at Georgia to appear in a varsity game (Tony Flanagan, 1976) or the first to start a game (Wayne Johnson vs. Alabama in 1985), you were the first black quarterback starter [for a season] for the Bulldogs. Do you take pride in that?

Jackson: Yes, I’ve taken a lot of pride in that fact. For one, before I had signed with Georgia but was interested in going there, there were a lot of people who questioned me about why I would go to a school which never had a black quarterback. My answer to all those people back then was always, “I know that Georgia has never had a black quarterback as a starter, but maybe I can be the first.” Looking back, I went through a lot in becoming Georgia’s first black starting quarterback—a lot of heartaches, a lot of blood, a lot of tears—and it wasn’t like I went around bragging about it or anything, but it meant a lot to me then and still does today.

UGASports: Known for as much of a threat to run the ball at Georgia as throw it, simply, did you prefer to run the football or throw it?

Jackson: Throw it. I loved that drop-back aspect, finding the receiver, and throwing him the ball. But I had to take into consideration that I possessed something extra that a lot of quarterbacks didn’t have: that speed and that mobility to run the ball just as well as a running back. I preferred to throw the ball but knew I could utilize my athletic ability to run the ball when I was called to or had to.

UGASports: Can you explain why you seemed to always play particularly well in bowl games, or was it just “one of those things”?

Jackson: Well, not that I didn’t want to perform at my best in regular-season games, but I think I somehow had a little bit of a different mindset for bowl games. Knowing it’s the last game of the year and, regardless of the result, the season is over, I think it allows for some players to really let it all hang out because there is no “tomorrow.” I think it was kind of that way for me: a “this-is-it” attitude, especially in the ’87 Liberty Bowl against Arkansas, thinking that it might be the last time I ever put on a football uniform.

UGASports: Putting all team accomplishments aside, what was your greatest personal moment as a Georgia Bulldog?

Jackson: I guess, it was when Coach Dooley named me the starting quarterback entering the 1985 season. That was probably the proudest moment I could have ever dreamed of at the time. As we’ve discussed, at one point during my freshman year, it didn’t look like I’d even play quarterback, much less start at the position.

UGASports: You mentioned if the Liberty Bowl would be the last time you put on a football uniform. Were there any possibilities of playing pro ball? Also, what about your family and your professional career since you left Georgia?

Jackson: There were a couple of NFL teams that were interested in me as, like they say, an “athlete.” But nobody was going to give me a shot to play quarterback. So, at the time, I was married with a child and another one on the way, and I decided to take care of my family instead of trying to go play in the NFL at a position I would have no idea how to play. I decided to get a job and start taking care of my children, and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 30-plus years. I live in Douglasville and for more than 20 years now, I’ve worked as a sales rep. for US Foods, or U.S. Foodservice. I have three boys: Kelsey, Gareth, and Tyler.

UGASports: What’s your current association with the UGA football program?

Jackson: I try to get to a game or two each season. I also try to go to G-Day every year and to the game’s letterman activities. Those are always fun. So, not that many, but I try to get to a function here and there.

UGASports: Finally, when you were at Georgia, there were kids who wore your replica jersey, and the like. At that time, did you sense that you had gained any sort of notoriety?

Jackson: Honestly, I did. It was a humbling experience that made me really feel good. Here, there were people I didn’t even know who thought enough of me, in a sense, to want to represent me. When I would see a Georgia No. 14 jersey, or something like that, when I played, I was like, wow, that’s got to be the icing on the cake! It’s funny you mentioned my jersey because even today, I have people asking if I still have one of my old Georgia jerseys, or something similar. It still really makes me feel good.