How Landon Jackson exceeded Deke Adams’ expectations

The expectations have always been high for Landon Jackson, dating back to his time as a four-star recruit and as a prized transfer portal pickup for Arkansas prior to the 2022 season. Following an All-SEC campaign for the Razorbacks last season, Jackson continues to rise to the occasion and take his game to levels that even his position coach Deke Adams might not have seen coming.

As a junior in 2023, Jackson finished sixth in the SEC with 13.5 tackles for loss while leading the Hogs with 6.5 sacks. It came as a bit of a surprise when Jackson announced his plans to return to Arkansas for his senior season, but defensive line coach Deke Adams has a plan for how to get even more out of Jackson before he begins his professional career.

“Just requiring him to do all the little things,” Adams said. “He’s such a hard worker. When you turn the film on, you see how hard he plays and how physical he plays. But being consistent in all the little things that comes with being a defensive lineman.

“He’s such a great player. He studies a lot, he knows a lot. He understands the game. But the little things of taking the right steps, being in the right place at the right time, transitioning your eyes to where they’re supposed to be. All the little things, I think, will elevate his game to another level.”

At 6-7, 280 pounds, Jackson isn’t hard to spot, even amongst other very large human beings. But Adams admits he wasn’t entirely convinced the Texarkana (Texas) native would end up being the kind of overall player he is today when he first arrived on campus.

“I didn’t, to be honest with you,” Adams said. “When I first got here, he was coming off an injury. My biggest question was how physical he was going to be because I had never seen him play. Here’s this big kid who’s long, is he going to play physical?

“That question was answered like immediately when he got on the field. There’s no doubt about it. The progress he’s made from the time he walked in the door to now, it’s been great and just been getting better and better every day when we go out.”

With eight years of experience coaching at four different SEC schools, Adams is no stranger to big-time talents on the defensive line, most notably coaching Jadeveon Clowney into a No. 1 overall pick at South Carolina. Having been around other defensive players with plenty of hype, Adams hopes to prepare Jackson for the kind of attention he’ll demand from offenses this fall.

“We talk about it all the time,” Adams said. “I was fortunate enough to coach another player, he was pretty good too. He was doubled and tripled and all that stuff after he had a major hit in a bowl game, and all of a sudden he became this guy that nobody could block.

“We talk about how things are going to be different for (Jackson). All the publicity and all that stuff he’s getting right now, it’s not going to his head or anything. And I don’t allow it for those guys anyway because I’m quick to tell them, ‘those same guys that lift you up are the same guys that’ll cut you down when you’re not playing the way they think you are, so don’t listen to all that stuff. Just play.'”