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Drake Jackson - Football - University of Kentucky Athletics 52

DrakeJackson

  • position Center
  • height 6-2
  • Weight 303
  • class Redshirt Sophomore
  • Hometown Versailles, Ky.
  • High school Woodford County
BIO Stats
Career
  • Played in 47 career games with 44 consecutive starts at center
  • Graduated in December of 2019 with a degree in agricultural economics … Graduated in December of 2020 with a master’s degree in kinesiology and health promotion
  • Helped UK win 37 games (most in a five-season span since 1949-53)
  • Helped UK go to five straight bowl games, tying the school record
  • Helped UK win 20 SEC games, most in a five-year span in school history
  • Posted first 10-win season and winning SEC record since 1977 and first final ranking sine 1984 (2018 season)
  • Won a Citrus Bowl, Belk Bowl and Gator Bowl
  • Notched victories over six ranked opponents
  • Won three Senior Day games in a row for the first time since 2010-12
  • Ended the 31-game losing streak to Florida 
  • Won at Tennessee for the first time since 1984
2020 – Senior (Team Captain)
  • First-Team All-SEC, Center (PFF)
  • Second-Team All-SEC (AP, Coaches, Phil Steele)
  • All-America Honorable Mention (Phil Steele)
  • Graded at 85.7 percent with 40 knockdowns and 188 blocks at the point of attack
  • Elected as one of 10 team captains
  • Rimington Trophy Watch List
  • Outland Trophy Watch List
  • Preseason Second-Team Offense All-American (Athlon Sports)
  • Preseason First-Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports, Coaches, Phil Steele)
  • Preseason Second-Team All-SEC (Pick Six Previews)
2019 – Junior
  • First-Team All-SEC (AP and Athlon)
  • Third-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
  • Second-Team center (PFF)
  • Named to SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
  • Rimington Trophy Watch List
  • Started in all 13 games and now has 33 consecutive starts at center
  • Helped set single-season school records with 3,624 rushing yards, 36 rushing touchdowns, and 6.3 yards per carry
  • 44 knockdown blocks on the season
  • Only two missed assignments in 845 plays this season
  • Allowed only one quarterback sack all year
  • Named co-SEC Lineman of the Week after his performance vs. Vanderbilt … Graded out at 90 percent for the afternoon … Had nine knockdown blocks, 27 blocks at the point of attack and did not allow a sack or pressure … Also did not have any missed assignments or penalties as the offense rolled to a season-high 528 total yards in UK’s largest SEC road win since 2001
  • Preseason Media Days All-SEC, Third-Team Offense
  • Athlon Sports’ Preseason All-SEC, First-Team Offense
2018 -Sophomore
  • Started at center in all 13 games, giving him 20 consecutive starts
  • Blocked for All-SEC and All-American running back, Benny Snell Jr., Kentucky’s all-time leading rusher and the first player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in three straight seasons
2017 – r-Freshman
  • Played in 10 games and earned the starting center spot for the final seven games of the season
  • Blocked for All-SEC running back, Benny Snell Jr., the first player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons
2016 – Freshman
  • Redshirt season
  • Graduated high school a semester early and enrolled at Kentucky in January of 2016 High School
  • U.S. Army All-American, named a team captain for the West squad
  • Helped the West win the game, 37-9
  • Two-time first-team all-state selection by the Courier-Journal and the Associated Press
  • A 2015 Herald-Leader “Class of Commonwealth” honoree
  • A four-star prospect by all four major recruiting services who is tabbed by Scout as the nation’s top center recruit
  • Invited to Nike’s The Opening – the most prestigious football recruiting camp of the 2015 summer – and the Rivals 100 Five-Star Challenge
  • The nation’s second-best center, according to 247sports, which also ranks him as the second-best prospect in the state and the 140th best in the nation
  • Ranked as the second-best center and the second-best prospect in the state by Rivals after recording 163 pancake blocks as a senior
  • ESPN ranks him the third-best center and No. 2 overall in the state
  • Rated by Scout as the 83rd best prospect in the nation
  • Coached by former UK All-SEC defensive end Dennis Johnson
  • Johnson says, “Good footwork, works hard in the weight room, is super-duper smart and asks a lot of questions about what to do, which is great because not many high school linemen do that. His mental capacity is way above most high school kids.”
  • The four-year letter winner picked UK over Alabama, Florida, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee and LSU
Personal
  • Born in Lexington, Kentucky
  • Son of Brian and Candy Jackson
  • Siblings are Ridge, Dane, and Sage
  • Dad, Brian, played football at Purdue; Brother, Dane, is a center at North Texas
Community Cats
  • Frequent visitor at Kentucky Children’s Hospital (2020)
  • Guest speaker at Huntertown Elementary’s fifth grade graduation ceremony (2017)
  • Volunteered for Habitat for Humanity (2016)
Drake Says
  • He chose UK because he wanted to do something special for the school he grew up rooting for
  • Other than playing in the NFL, his dream job is to be a college coach
  • One word to describe him is “sturdy”
  • If he had to be stranded on an island with his teammates he would choose the freshman offensive linemen because they do what he tells them
  • Most people don’t know that if he wasn’t playing football he would be an astronaut
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