A.J. Jackson leaves defenders and opposing special teamers in his wake on a regular basis. Lake Forest athletics photo by Yanna Glaspy

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com

Where is No. 0?

That’s the question Lake Forest opponents constantly have to ask themselves because A.J. Jackson can change a game on most plays.

Defenses can’t afford to lose track of Jackson, the Foresters’ leading receiver with 34 catches for 664 yards and 12 scores in just seven games.

However, it’s on special teams where foes have to be on red alert. Jackson, a two-time D3football.com All-American, is one of the nation’s top return men and can flip the field or get the ball to the house in an instant. He ranks second in the nation at 23.8 yards per punt return this season, slightly higher than his career average of 23.6. He has six career punt return touchdowns in just 20 games and his 898 punt return yards are a program record.

“In high school, I had a special teams coach that always preached that special teams were such an important part of the game that people overlook,” Jackson said. “I have taken kickoff and punt returns very seriously. You can quickly shift the momentum of a game with a big return. So, I want to give a big shout out to my guys for getting me blocks and setting up the plays.”

Jackson likes the unpredictability of returning kicks.

“Punt return is my favorite,” he said. “While the ball is in the air, there are a lot of judgments I think about. Do I let it take a bounce? Do I catch it clean? Do I let it bounce and then grab it? I am comfortable enough back there to survey the field and watch the ball at the same time. That comes from trusting my guys, knowing they won’t let me get smacked when I get the ball. It’s hard to nitpick and plan too much. At lot of it is on the fly, for sure.”

And, does Jackson fly with the ball. His next punt return for a score will tie Stony Brook’s Chuck Downey for the Division III career mark, with seven.

“Punt returning is like an out-of-body experience for me. I am not on the field, mentally. I am just playing the game and letting it flow,” he said. “It’s definitely not a one-person thing, though. If my team misses one block, then I don’t score. If one person doesn’t give 100 percent effort, then I get tackled as soon as I get the ball. Scoring is definitely a team-oriented thing. Being a good punt returner means absolutely nothing without good blocks. Returning one all the way is the best feeling in the world. Running down the sideline and making a cut or something and hearing the bench go crazy. It’s great.”

Jackson’s dedication to special teams has served a solid leadership model for the Foresters.

“A.J. was actually a first-team all-state punter in high school. He has this real value of special teams that, as a coach, you have to either ingrain in people or constantly stress. But, when you have one of your more talented players show how important it is, it makes the whole team respect that,” said Lake Forest head coach Jim Catanzaro, who also coordinates special teams. “I think one of the things that goes unnoticed is that he is a kickoff coverage guy for us and a wing on our punt team. As good as he is on our return teams, he takes it all seriously. As a punt returner, I’ve never seen someone who has such a feel for it at all.”

That is, when teams decide to punt or the kick the ball to Jackson. In a 24-10 win over Monmouth, he had a 50-yard punt return to the 5 to set up a touchdown in the third quarter. He added another short punt return, otherwise, the ball didn’t go anywhere near him on kicks or punts.

“At this point in season, he only has three kick returns. Teams are just not even trying to kick deep on us and that’s helping our field position a ton,” Catanzaro said. “The last three weeks, for the punts that were not returnable, I think teams have gained only 20-24 yards of field position.

“With our game on Saturday, we had three touchdown drives that were 16, 28 and 5 yards. On one, we were able to tackle the punter because he was not trying to kick to A.J. Against Illinois College, A.J. had two punt returns for touchdowns, but we had two punt blocks as well. We love it. It makes me look like a really smart coach when 90 percent has to do with his talent and the other guys willing to block.”

So, to kick it to Jackson or not is the question for teams.

“When teams have to go into their game plan and have to make adjustments, it can make the punter nervous or make the gunners overplay. There are so many things that go into it,” Jackson said. “It definitely feeds my ego. But a lot of that isn’t even me as much as it is the rush; the guys on the line get after the ball. The punter only has two options, kick it as far and as fast as he can or kick it out of bounds. A lot of times far and fast doesn’t work out well. Out of bounds is their go-to.”

In addition to his explosiveness, Jackson is just as likely to make a block to spring a teammate or help take down an opponent on kick coverage.

“He is one of the more genuine people I’ve coached,” Catanzaro said. “He really looks for needs that can be fulfilled. However he can make sure a win happens, that’s all he cares about. The whole team gets to celebrate that, where individual honors are just something he can look at later on.”

One day, Jackson wants to become a family attorney. Right now, though, he’s focused on getting the Foresters (8-0) a Midwest Conference title and a playoff berth.

“It’s a good start, but, hopefully, we’re not done. Nothing is set in stone,” he said. “We just hope we go out and handle business the last two weeks like we have been and onto the playoffs we go.”