JaKevin Jackson

TIFTON — Kalamazoo, Mich. is a long way from Tifton, Georgia.

The most direct route between the two cities is 750 miles, involves four states and countless highways. And a big change in weather conditions.

JaKevin Jackson, who left the south in 2014 for the city, laughed at the difference.

“I developed a tough skin for the snow,” he said.

Jackson, who grew up in an area where snowfall is measured in years instead of inches, had to learn how to extricate his car from the snow and also how to drive in it.

Jackson’s adaption was necessary, as it was part of the package for playing football at Western Michigan University and now as he prepares for the NFL combine.

Western Michigan, which finished 13-1 in 2016 and played in the school’s first major bowl game — a 24-16 Cotton Bowl loss to Wisconsin — was college football’s Cinderella story of the year. An underdog school that kept winning. A team far from the traditional powerhouses that showed it belonged under head coach P.J. Fleck.

Football has been at Western Michigan for more than a century. For the most part, it has been a solid if yet unremarkable program. They are more than 100 wins over .500, but have been to a mere eight bowl games. The past three seasons have generated nearly half of these.

Fleck is a true leader, said Jackson.

“He inspired me to be the best person I could be,” Jackson said. “He’s always been that type of person.”

The undefeated season and Cotton Bowl put Fleck on the national radar. It did not take long for another program to scoop him up.

The University of Minnesota announced Fleck’s hiring Jan. 6, 2017, shortly after announcing the dismissal of Tracy Claeys, who had been head coach for the past year-and-a-half.

Fleck has moved offices across the Great Lakes, but Jackson will always remember him. Not just for his spoken words, but for his written ones as well.

Jackson said that Fleck gave each player a big book of inspirational quotes and words of encouragement. That book will always be something he can look through, he said.

Jackson had finished his career as a Tift County Blue Devils and was at Georgia Military College when Fleck came calling in 2014.

Interest in Jackson was high. Among his offers were West Virginia and Kansas State, but it was Fleck who broke through, selling him on a team that had gone just 1-11 the season before.

“Just the way Coach Fleck spoke to me,” said Jackson about his decision to become a Bronco. “His energy was different.”

Jackson’s Western Michigan bio said he made his season debut against Purdue Aug. 30 and recorded a season high in tackles against Idaho Sept. 13. The Broncos finished 8-5 and played in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Air Force.

One year later, Western Michigan recorded one fewer win in the regular season, but tied for first in the West Division.

They were invited to the Bahamas Bowl, a trip Jackson called “an amazing experience.”

It was his first time out of the country and not only was the tropical life fun (Jackson said it was a “beautiful place, tons of fun”), Western Michigan picked up its first ever bowl win, defeating Middle Tennessee State, 45-31.

This year’s Cotton Bowl might have been prophetic, based on a memory of Jackson’s.

Just prior to the 2016 season, Fleck conducted a team meeting. During this meeting, said Jackson, he displayed a Cotton Bowl logo.

The moment was brief.

“He never brought it up again,” said Jackson.

Months later, the undefeated Broncos were in Dallas for the game.

The Broncos were the toast of Dallas, given a big welcome party and were guests at the Dallas Cowboys Comedy Jam, which featured Cedric the Entertainer.

Jackson said the experience was something “I always dreamed about.”

Currently, Jackson is focused on Pro Day, but has a backup plan in case the NFL does not work out.

He is a criminal justice major and said he had been talking to law enforcement in Michigan. Jackson plans on staying there.

The distance has been enough to limit family visits. His family was able to see him play in Statesboro when the Broncos went to Georgia Southern and they came up for the Nov. 25, 2016 Senior Day game against Toledo.

Jackson was able to come home for Christmas. While in town, he took in the McDonald’s Invitational. Younger sister, Keisha, plays basketball for the Tift County Lady Devils.

He hopes what he’s doing helps his siblings, “gives them that motivation” and helps them realize they, too, can earn scholarships.