At Cal Poly, he was a star cornerback and return specialist, providing highlight reel interceptions and stalwart defense on a weekly basis. But now, the 5-foot-10 Baltimore Ravens rookie is simply looking to impress an NFL coaching staff to earn playing time this season.
Fresh off his first professional career training camp and several preseason games, Asa Jackson has indeed impressed, based on accounts out of camp, despite not being able to participate in voluntary team-organized activities early in the summer due to classes at Cal Poly.
The missed time admittedly put Jackson, the school-record holder with 307 interception return yards, a step behind other players. But he’s used his familiar aggressiveness and high energy to prove skeptics of his small, 190-pound frame wrong.
“I’m not going to change the way I play because it’s what got me to this point,” Jackson said. “If they didn’t like the way I played then they wouldn’t have drafted me.”
And he doesn’t think coming from a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school such as Cal Poly, one that doesn’t face the same level of competition as traditional Division I football schools do, has any bearing on his chances at seeing significant playing time as a rookie.
“Honestly, where you came from doesn’t matter at this point,” Jackson said. “We’re all out here just balling.”
But to earn a spot at his traditional cornerback position, the undersized defensive back will have to prove he’s got what it takes on the field, as well as in between the ears.
He admits the toughest part of the transition to the NFL hasn’t necessarily been adjusting to the speed of the players, but rather to the size of the playbook. With multiple new schemes and coverages to master before gameday, Jackson has found a new, welcoming challenge of playing pro football.
“Playbook-wise and scheme-wise it’s been much more advanced and harder than they were at Cal Poly,” he said. “But at the same time, I think that’s helped me raise my game a little bit.”
To help ease the transition, the coaches and players around him are also more than willing to help grasp the X’s and O’s of the Ravens defense, he admitted.
Jackson will likely make most of his contributions for Baltimore on special teams as a kick returner, at least early in the season while he gets accustomed to the expanded playbook.
To earn a spot on the regular season depth chart at cornerback, Jackson is one of three players vying for only two starting slots in one of the league’s deepest secondaries. Yet, Jackson is confident that in his short time with the Ravens, he’s made a positive impact on the coaches.
“I think I’ve showed (the coaching staff) that I definitely can play corner at this level and also be valuable in the return game,” he said. “I’m only (a few) weeks into my pro career so it’s still a little bit early, but I’m gonna go out every day and prove to them that I can be a good corner and return guy.”
Cal Poly senior quarterback Andre Broadous, who has thrown only one interception in his entire Mustangs career, remembers getting picked off on several occasions by Jackson on the Cal Poly practice field.
“There were a couple times when I thought a receiver was open, then out of nowhere Jackson would come and bat the ball down or intercept the ball on me,” Broadous said. “He’s that type of player. He’s so fast and he’s able to break on balls that you wouldn’t expect a defensive back to break on.”
Jackson’s latest head-turner was an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown — later called back due to a holding penalty around midfield — in the Ravens preseason game against the Detroit Lions on Aug. 17. That game was played in front of 70,567 fans — a much larger gathering than anything he witnessed at Cal Poly.
Junior Mustangs linebacker Johnny Millard said he learned plenty from Jackson’s high intensity style of play while he was at Cal Poly.
“He played with no fear and he played with confidence,” Millard said of playing alongside Jackson on defense. “If you want to make it to the next level, that’s what it’s got to be. You can’t play with fear; you got to play with confidence and swagger like he did.”
Jackson, who was one tackle shy of reaching the 200-tackle plateau while forcing eight picks in his collegiate career, has recorded seven tackles and has made a presence on special teams.
He explained that the touchdown return was one of the most exciting moments of his football career, as evidenced by his celebratory endzone dance following the play. Jackson just hopes it was equally as memorable to those evaluating his every move.