Pre Minnesota Press Conference - Damian Jackson

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Nov. 6, 2017
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Minnesota

Defensive Lineman Damian Jackson
On what motivated him to try out for the football team
“I’ve kind of always been like that, trying to do stuff that I haven’t done before in life, even being a Navy SEAL, I volunteered in boot camp, so it wasn’t something I had my eyes set on my whole life. This just seemed like a good fit for me. I used to play baseball for 16 years and a little bit of soccer as well, but I felt like I couldn’t play that anymore due to my size. Football seemed like the greatest fit for me so it was something that I set my mind to and I just really wanted to do and see if I could do it and that’s how I ended up here. It’s just something I really wanted to do.”

On Veteran’s Day
“It’s great for all veterans. I know that a lot of veterans come to the football games. I was here about two years ago at the Michigan State game when they celebrated Veteran’s Day then and it’s a great experience for all the fans and to celebrate all the veterans being here. It’s an honor for them to come here and be celebrated, just recognized for all the work they’ve done throughout their life and it’s a great celebration for the military.”

On his ‘welcome to college football’ moment
“The first couple of weeks were kind of like that. I wouldn’t say getting hit hard, just getting hit with information that I didn’t know about the sport, just where to fit, lineups and everything like that. I didn’t know anything coming into the game. So, that whole month I’d say was the biggest hit of just trying to learn the sport, just trying to catch up to everybody. Obviously I have a long way to go to catch up to everybody.”

On why he wanted to play defense
“I honestly wanted to go anywhere. Anywhere where the coaches would put me in - that’s where I put my name out there was just to be anywhere on the team. So, offense or defense, I didn’t really care, I just wanted to be on the team doing something.”

On why he chose Nebraska
“It’s kind of a long story, but my mom’s old boss – he’s a dentist – he used to go here in the ‘60s. He used to play on the team and once he found out I wanted to play college football, he kind of helped me out and he wanted to show me Nebraska. I actually got to talk to Coach Riley about two years ago and once I actually got out of the Navy, I didn’t really have anywhere to go, so I kind of just packed up my bags and went where I had actually talked to somebody, and that was here.  This was the only school I was able to talk to, so, I just did it.”

On if he tried to take a leadership role
“As of right now, I kind of do and kind of don’t. Right now, I’m just kind of sitting back and observing everything, trying to get a feel for everything, trying to find my spot where I belong into the team, and throughout the years to come, I’ll pick up where I should be and try to pick up a leadership role, but right now it’s just all observation, and trying learn the best I can,  so once I do fit into that role, I know what I’m doing, and I feel more responsible about trying to be a leader for this football team.”

On his service time
“I got into the Navy in 2010, that’s when I went to boot camp, and then I went through BUD/S straight after that and that’s Basic Underwater Demolition school, it’s the starting school to try to be a Navy SEAL, and throughout all that training, that was about a year and a half to two years, and once I graduated I went to SEAL Team 1, and I stayed there for four years, and I did a deployment to Yemen, and then southeast Asia, and I just traveled all over Asia, just trying to help out other forces, and then I got out in 2016, and came over here about two months after I got out.”

On who has been the most welcoming here in Nebraska
“Most of the defensive line I’m really good friends with them, and John Parrella, the head coach of the d-line, all the d-line guys are friends, good friends of me, and they’re all trying to help just everybody there, it’s a great community to be around.”

On if the defensive line asks him about his service
“They kind of pick and choose some days, I think they’re a little scared sometimes to ask me somedays, but they definitely do ask. I don’t mind speaking my stories, it’s nothing too crazy.”

On if college football helps him acclimate to civilian lifestyle
“I don’t really feel like I had to be acclimated from military to civilian lifestyle, because my job in the military I was kind of free to do my own thing, just didn’t really have too many people watching over me, not a lot of rules and stuff, so once I got to civilian lifestyle it was kind of easy going and having football for most the days kind of takes your mind off of it, you just kind of rolling throughout the day, so it does help.”

What he wants to do with computer science major
“Hopefully work for Google or go to Silicon Valley, somewhere to work with that to be a programmer or anything like that. I still have a long ways to go to see where I want to actually end up, but that’s the main goal right now.”

On what it means to lead the team out of the tunnel holding the American flag
“It’s an extreme honor for me to hold the flag, I know usually it’s a senior, and then you trade it off every year, but in the beginning of the year everybody came up to me and wanted me to hold it, so I felt extremely honored to hold it and it’s awesome to be out, being one of the first people out of the tunnel, I know a lot of kids dreams of it, and it’s a great experience for me, and happy I get to do it every time.”

On if he had doubts he would make the team
“There obviously was, those tryouts were there to test your speed and agility, and how well you cope with it, so I wasn’t sure how I would do, I’ve never ran a test like that or anything before so there was some doubt if I would make it or not because I had no clue what to expect so after the tryout was over I was definitely a little worried compared to the other people who were doing pretty well as well, so there was some doubt.”

On how long he had to wait before he found out if he made the team
“I believe two weeks. They had spring break and I came in right after spring break. I believe it was two weeks.”

On why he chose number 38
“I didn’t choose the number honestly, they just gave it to me.”

On if he had a preference on which number he would want
“No, I guess there’s a number system for defense, offense, and all that. I had no clue. I just kind of accepted it. So right now, no.”

On the National Anthem protests as a Navy SEAL
“Honestly, I don’t mind people taking a knee, I feel like they should be able to voice their opinion. I know a lot of people think it’s bad for the military or they’re disrespecting the military, but their taking a knee for their own cause, and they have no disrespect for the military themselves so, it’s freedom of speech to me so I don’t mind anybody doing it to be honest.”

On if being a Navy SEAL is as it is perceived outside of the military
“There’s definitely some days that are like that, that are exciting and stuff when you’re in the military, and being a Navy SEAL, and there’s other days where it is quite boring, I think public reception is reality in the SEAL(s) so, once you get out there, and you’re on deployment, or you’re in training, a lot of the stuff is fun, exciting, and fast.”

On if he has spoken with anyone from his SEAL team about the football experience
“I talk to a lot of people from my old platoon, they’ve been with me the whole way and they’re excited for me to be here. They’re happy that I’m doing what I’m doing so I keep in contact with a lot of them.”

On if anyone from his platoon are also playing football
“No, I think only a couple other guys from SEAL Team 1 got out, and there’s only like 3 or 4 of them, that are just going to different schools right now.”