University of North Carolina Athletics
Jackson Aims To Be Motivating Factor
August 7, 2013 | Football
by Robbi Pickeral, GoHeels.com
CHAPEL HILL -- Tim Jackson always has been self-motivated. If there was a tree to be climbed as a kid, he aimed for the highest limb. When there was weight to be gained between high school and college, he put on 25 pounds. Asked to switch positions on North Carolina's defensive line before last season, he focused and studied and successfully shifted.
His goal now, as he begins his senior season: To spread that motivation around.
"I've always been a leader by example,'' said the 6-foot-5, now 285-pound defensive tackle from St. Petersburg, Fla. "But lately, with me growing up, and other guys who used to lead gone, I feel like somebody has to step up. ... That's just something that was in me, that I had to bring out, and now I'm the vocal leader of the defense - maybe of the team, depending on who you ask.
"I'm just motivated to succeed, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get my team to the top in my last year."
What he'll have to do is prod, push and inspire a defense often considered the step-brother to UNC's high-octane attack last season. While the Tar Heels' offense racked up 40.58 ppg (eighth-best in the nation), their defense gave up an average of 32.9 points and 452.6 yards in ACC play in 2012 -- ranking them 10th and eighth respectively in those league categories.
But even with two of last season's top defensive players and team leaders, linebacker Kevin Reddick and lineman Sylvester Williams, now playing in the NFL, Jackson is confident his unit will improve.
At the doubters, he smiles and shakes his dreadlocks.
"Since I've been here, this whole team has been given reasons why we won't succeed,'' Jackson said. "My first game, against LSU [in 2010] we were missing 13 starters, and everyone said, 'Oh, they don't stand a chance.' But we competed, made it down to the last play. The next year, 'Oh, their head coach got fired three days before camp, they won't do anything.' But we still focused with an interim coach, won seven games, made it to a bowl game.
"Last season, we got a new head coach, Larry Fedora. Everybody asked, "Now, what are they going to do?'' Well, we won the Coastal.
"Everybody has a reason why we're not going to do good; well, let's look at the reasons we will do good."
For one, on defense, there's the secondary, which returns senior Jabari Price and junior Tim Scott at cornerback, and senior Tre Boston at safety. There are some big question marks in the middle. But up front, there's experience, what with senior defensive end Kareem Martin and junior tackle Shawn Underwood joining Jackson on the line.
And then there's Jackson, himself, who UNC quarterback Bryn Renner described as "relentless," "big," "fast" and "tireless."
Add "confident," too, a year after switching from defensive end to the interior.
"I'm expecting [Tim] to really step it up and be more of a contributor this year,'' said first-year defensive line coach Keith Gilmore. "We moved him from nose tackle to what we call our '3-technique,' which is a player that makes more plays than a nose tackle makes - he's playing where Sylvester Williams played last year, so his production should be up some. We're looking for him to be a big factor in the defense."
Both physically and vocally.
Leaders aren't created, Jackson insists, they emerge in hard times. And he's experienced plenty of the latter, persevering through various injuries (the most talked-about being the cut-block by a Duke player last season that took Jackson out of action with a knee injury), and a half-dozen different position-coaching switches.
But the Academic All-ACC selection said it has all made him mentally stronger - and even more motivated to disrupt offenses, win games, and lead his team to bigger accomplishments.
"Nobody's ever really had to push me; if I do something, I've just always wanted to do it to the best of my ability - whether it was reaching the highest limb I could without it breaking when I climbed a tree, to getting to the quarterback,'' he said. "...And I just want my entire team to be that way too, because I know we're capable of big things."
