Mississippi State offensive guard Jacoby Jackson updates training camp progress

Similar to other transfers on Mississippi State’s offensive line, junior Jacoby Jackson wasted little time getting comfortable in Starkville with his new teammates. After spending his first two seasons at Texas Tech, Jackson arrived at Mississippi State in January and is expected to be a key part up front for the Bulldogs.

Following Tuesday’s practice, Jackson met with the media to discuss training camp among other topics:

Q: Coach Cody Kennedy mentioned that you have some flex in your game on the line. Where are you practicing so far?
Jackson: I’ve been playing a little bit of guard and tackle. Mostly guard and I only played guard in the spring. But just to have position flexibility and you always need that. Plus, you never know what can happen. So having that flexibility and being able to help wherever I can is always good.

Q: How’s your experience been so far at Mississippi State?
Jackson: I definitely say the SEC, as far as down in the trenches, guys are definitely a lot bigger and stronger, for sure. Every day going against our guys has been good. It’s been good competition. Why wouldn’t you want to go against a Dline that is also coached by Coach (David) Turner? So that’s been big and going against that competition and guys that are being coached by a man with such a high status in the college football world has been good.

Q: You had a lot of teams after you when you entered the portal. What was it about Mississippi State?
Jackson: The family connection and honestly, just connecting with a guy like Coach Kennedy. My biggest thing when I was in the portal was I wanted to find an Oline coach that I can trust and that I knew for a fact was going to get me better. Then just a person I could connect with and go talk to at any time. It’s more than just football. Don’t get me wrong, business is business. But outside the building Coach Kennedy is a guy you can approach at any time. So that’s always good.

Q: Did you know Coach Kennedy before you entered the portal?
Jackson: No, I didn’t. I knew of him just because of the past school he was at and Twitter and stuff. But other than that, I never talked to him before the portal.

Q: How difficult is that to try to build a relationship quickly with a coach when you are in the portal?
Jackson: It can be pretty difficult because once again, it’s such a short period of time. You got to trust this guy with a lot. I feel like this was the decision that was going to impact the rest of my life. So I wanted to make sure it was the right one but I fully trust in him and I feel like I made the right decision, for sure.

Q: What do you think the offensive line got out of Sunday’s scrimmage?
Jackson: Really just playing faster. Honestly, that’s the biggest thing. We’re a very high-tempo offense. We need to play faster and be ready and get these defenses on their toes.

Q: How is the line adjusting to that tempo?
Jackson: I feel like I’ve adjusted pretty well. We actually ran a similar type of tempo offense at Texas Tech. So it’s not that it’s really new to me. You just got to get in shape for that all again.

Q: Do you think the offensive line has built good chemistry so far and how do y’all bond off the field?
Jackson: From what I know, y’all already know about the Buffalo Wild Wings. That was a little thing that went on and we all go eat. We go to church together, we go to Bible studies together. Sometimes it’s shoot, let’s go to Ethan Miner‘s house. We go eat some good food and just bond. You know, offensive linemen, nine times out of ten when we bond, we’re going to bond over some good food.

Q: You mentioned Coach Turner’s defensive line, which guys give you the most trouble over there?
Jackson: Definitely Trevion Williams. De’Monte (Russell) is great, KJ (Kedrick Bingley-Jones) is great, (Sulaiman) Kpaka is great. A young guy that has really come along is Kai McClendon. I mean, in my opinion, he’s had a great camp. He’s already making flashes and I think he is going to keep making those strides.

Q: Who leads the Bible study?
Jackson: Ethan Miner usually.

Q: What have you seen from Makylan Pounders?
Jackson: Oh, athletic. Mak is very athletic, he’s smart. He cares about this a lot. He spends time in the building. We were roommates at one time and even when we were at the house, we were always talking football. He is always watching videos of how he can get better. But he’s really, really athletic.

Q: Where are y’all with the installs of the offense? Is that process winding down now?
Jackson: We are winding it down now. We have a good amount of it set already. Obviously, we are reviewing it all the time. But we are getting to that point in camp where we’re almost done with the install.