FAYETTEVILLE — Utah transfer running back Ja’Quinden Jackson has had quite the journey.
The former Utes tailback began his career as a standout quarterback at Duncanville, Texas, and was labeled a 4-star recruit coming out of high school.
Despite the challenges he faced in his college career at Texas, Jackson’s resilience shined through. His determination led him to transfer to Utah, where he made a significant impact by recording 1,358 yards and 14 touchdowns over 3 seasons.
Now at Arkansas, he continues to embrace the path he’s on.
“Like my momma told me, ‘Everybody’s journey is different.’ For example, some people will be three [years] and done, and some people will be five or six [years],” Jackson said. “I’m just staying on the path where God wants me to be. I’m just taking it day by day and step by step.
“The journey has been fun. I’ve met plenty of great guys. We’ve built friendships, brotherhoods. It’s been a long journey, but hopefully this year will be my last year in college football. I pray to God it is. I can’t do another fall camp. It’s been great. I love the journey, and the progress has been great.”
His testimony has been filled with bumps in the road. Last year with Utah, Jackson recorded a career-high 797 yards rushing and four touchdowns. However, those yards didn’t come without their challenges.
Jackson sustained a right foot injury in fall camp that lingered throughout the season. The redshirt senior opened up this week about the trials he faced in 2023.
“A lot of people don’t know I was hurt all last year,” Jackson said. “When I entered the portal, it was a whole lot of jokes. ‘He’s got paper ankles, this and that.’ It was funny. I laughed at it. But people talk about it from the outside looking in. They don’t really know what I had to go through last season for me to get those 700 yards and four touchdowns. It was a struggle every week battling with this injury.”
The injury, he said, moved from his ankle to his foot. He missed the team’s Week 5 game at Oregon State as a result.
“It was bad,” he added. “I mean, everything happens for a reason. It was a low-ankle sprain, then it went to a tendon in my foot, then the tendon in my foot kind of came off the bone. I had to let it heal. … It got too bad. I couldn’t walk.
“Everybody has their opinion about me, but they don’t know what goes on. I just tried to stick it out and play through it, but it took a toll on me last season.”
The running back’s path has not been all sunshine and rainbows. But he’s poised to play a significant role in the backfield for a new-look Arkansas offense under first-year coordinator Bobby Petrino in 2024.
“I think the value of transfers is what kind of people they are,” Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman said Thursday. “Obviously we hope that we’ve done the right homework on him on the field from tape, which we have. … His size, his pad level, and he’s played before, I think that’s something that we were needing [and] we were looking for.”