McKinnley Jackson working on his leadership for 2023

In 2022, McKinnley Jackson proved to be one of the best players on the Texas A&M defense. However, there’s still plenty to work on, as Jackson himself would be more than willing to say. That includes growing into a leadership role.

While at SEC media days, Jackson explained what he’s working on, including his leadership, ahead of the 2023 season.

“Honestly, being a better player, a better person, and better leader,” McKinnley Jackson said. “Holding my guys accountable and holding myself accountable to be the expectation of what we need to be every day and bring it to the table every week.”

In eight games last season, Jackson made his presence felt on the field with seven tackles for loss and two sacks. He had 37 total tackles on the season.

According to the On3 Industry Rankings, McKinnley Jackson was a four-star recruit in the 2020 cycle. He came to Texas A&M out of the state of Mississippi, explaining that he wanted to see something new.

“Honestly, I wanted to grow, expand my mind,” Jackson said. “I’ve been in Mississippi for 18 years, so I wanted something new, to see the world for more than what it is, because where I’m from it’s kind of small. I don’t want to tell you how it is where I’m from, but it’s kind of small-minded. You don’t see too much every day. You see the same things, same people. I could go home today, and I leave for a year, and the same thing is going on. So, you know, I wanted something new out of life, and I felt like Texas was where it’s at.”

McKinnley Jackson on how Texas A&M stayed together

2022 was a long and difficult season for the Aggies, going just 5-7. Despite that, Texas A&M was able to stay together throughout the season, as McKinnley Jackson explained during SEC media days.

“There were ups and downs. Of course, there’s going to be. How we come together and commemorate to one another, like I say, hold each other accountable. So dealing with those losses, you know, at times we didn’t handle our business the way we should have. We didn’t conduct ourselves the right way. It falls back on a lot of things, like leadership. Like I said, I feel like this year, it’s one of the things we’ve worked on especially this offseason, especially myself,” Jackson said.

“Like I said, being selfless and pushing others to be more than what they expect themselves to be because, you know, there’s no limit to what you can be. And if you don’t see it, someone else sees it. If I see it, I’m going to push it out of you each and every day, no matter if you like me or not. We can argue back and forth. We can fight, but I’m going to get the best out of you just like I’m going to get the best out of me. Because I want you to be the best at your game. I want you to have everything you want out of life, and I’m going to do whatever it takes for my part and for me putting it on you.”