WATCH: UCLA DB Scooter Jackson recalls game-saving tackle against Penn State
Scooter Jackson called his shot in UCLA’s 42-37 win over then-No. 7 Penn State this past weekend. The junior safety told teammate and fellow safety Key Lawrence that he was ready to finish off the Nittany Lions.
Trailing by seven, facing fourth-and-2 inside the UCLA 10 yard-line and 39 seconds left, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar attempted to run for the first down. But Jackson saw it coming after the past week of film study.
“Penn State was a big, shift-in-motion team so we knew on that play we were going to get, like, a big shift in motion,” Jackson recalled three days later after Tuesday’s practice. “I had told Key before the play, like, ‘We’re about to get out of here. I’m about to end the game right now.’ Boom, I’d seen the motion come, shift, I knew exactly what play it was going to be. We ended it all. A great celebration, a great win.”
Jackson happy to be home
Like many transfers on the team, Jackson is a Southern California native.
The former Utah Tech defensive back played high school football at Downey (Calif.) Warren. In fact, Jackson and Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles, the opponent this Saturday, are high school rivals.
Chiles played at Downey High School.
Jackson said he’s glad to be surrounded by the likes of quarterbacks Nico and Madden Iamaleava (Warren HS) and cornerback Rodrick Pleasant (Gardena-Serra) once more.
“It was actually an amazing feeling to be able to come back home and play for the hometown team,” Jackson said. “It was great being able to rally the troops back up and come home.”
Scooter Jackson post-practice media session (10/7)
Watch his full press conference below:
