Texas Tech transfer Jacoby Jackson breaks down Mississippi State decision

When former Texas Tech offensive guard Jacoby Jackson entered the transfer portal last month, he did so seeking a “fresh start” and the chance “to compete for a job”. On Tuesday, Jackson found that new start at Mississippi State and committed to the Bulldogs.

Jackson has started 14 games over the past two seasons for Texas Tech, including the last eight games of the 2023 campaign. One factor behind Tuesday’s decision was his relationship with Bulldog offensive line coach Cody Kennedy.

“Really, it was just my relationship with Coach Kennedy,” noted the 6-foot-6 and 330-pound Jackson. “He’s a younger guy with real high energy. We built a good relationship and then you just look at him and his career. He was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award and is only around 32-33 years old. So it shows he is good at his job and good at what he does. He develops guys and that is what I was looking for.

“When I decided to leave Texas Tech, the biggest thing for me was getting a fresh start. I wanted to compete for a job somewhere and that was the biggest thing.”

Jackson was originally recruited by Mississippi State’s former staff under head coach Mike Leach when he prepped at Mansfield Summit (Texas) School. Last week Jackson officially visited Mississippi State to learn more about head coach Jeff Lebby and his staff. He also took official visits to Texas A&M and Baylor this past weekend.

“I had a really good visit and a good time there,” Jackson recalled. “We toured all of the facilities and went to the women’s basketball game for a little bit. I interacted with the whole staff and some of their players. They didn’t have many players there because of the break. But I was able to talk to Jordan Davis and Gabe Moore. Gabe was my host and they were good guys to be around.”

During that stay in Starkville and as expected, Jackson met with Kennedy to learn more about his future role with the Bulldogs, which starts in spring practice.

“Just talked about the opportunity to come in and compete at guard,” remarked Jackson, who has two years left to play. “That is where I played at Texas Tech so I am real comfortable there. That is where I have played my whole college career and every college game I have played I’ve been at guard.”

Jackson is also eager to be part of Lebby’s first offense in Starkville. Coming from the Big 12, he had a good view of Lebby’s system at Oklahoma where Lebby was the offensive coordinator the past two seasons.

“Literally everywhere he has been as the offensive coordinator, he’s had a Top 10 offense,” Jackson noted. “What I like the most about his offense is he runs a little bit of everything. That is what the NFL likes to see, too. Then what Lebby explained to me was that in the last two years, he had five offensive linemen drafted in the NFL from Oklahoma. So we know offensive linemen love his offense and it is a great situation to be in.”

Another guy that Jackson is familiar with during his Big 12 career is the guy he will be protecting in the pocket. Former Baylor transfer quarterback Blake Shapen was the first transfer addition by Lebby this offseason and Jackson already knows what to expect from Shapen.

“I played against Blake three years in a row,” Jackson said. “Once I was hearing from Mississippi State, we got in contact with each other and Blake was telling me why Mississippi State would be a good move for me.

“He is real dynamic at quarterback. He has a great arm and runs really well, too. The first two years he did really well against us at Texas Tech and I just feel like he’s a great quarterback. He just makes plays and is a smart quarterback.”

This offseason, replacing a lot of veteran experience along the offensive line was one of Lebby’s top priorities in the transfer portal. Jackson is now the fourth transfer offensive lineman added by State since the start of December and he joins tackle Makylan Pounders (Memphis), center Ethan Minter (North Texas) and guard Marlon Martinez (LSU).

Scheduled to move to Starkville this coming weekend, Jackson noted of the importance of building those bonds with his position mates. And how quickly they gel together will also determine State’s success on the offensive side of the ball.

“We just have to get in there and work together and build those relationships,” Jackson mentioned. “I’ve been talking to Makylan and Ethan already. They are down to earth guys and should be easy to work with and easy to build a bond with. That is what you need as an offensive line. It’s five guys working as one. So we have to have that bond to make things work.”