The South Alabama program is littered with stories of players who started out their careers elsewhere and relocated to Mobile, Alabama, to get their college careers back on track.
There’s a host of players who had lacking interest out of high school, went the junior college route, and landed at a school whose abbreviation is USA.
USA, land of opportunity, of second chances.
Kalen Jackson started his college career at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi, spent the 2014 season at UAB — he only played two games before an injury ended his season — before that program was disbanded. Then Jackson, a safety, transferred to South Alabama, where he was a standout as a junior, and again as a senior before the injury bug bit him again.
Jackson has missed the last six games with an ankle injury suffered against Troy earlier this season. USA coach Joey Jones is hoping to at least get Jackson a few snaps for his final game.
Jackson didn’t participate in Tuesday’s practice at Salpointe Catholic.
Friday will mark defensive end Randy Allen’s first-ever bowl game. Well, sort of.
“Do you count junior college bowls?” Allen asked, with a smile.
At the College of San Mateo in California, he played in two bowl games; then, as a junior at USA, he played sparingly.
That served as a wake-up call — as a senior, Allen has been a star, a first-team All-Conference selection and USA’s best defensive player.
Friday’s Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl matchup with Air Force will mark the end of the college football road for both Allen and Jackson, who will next try their hand at the NFL.
Both, even as Jackson has been injured, have been driving forces behind South Alabama’s second-ever bowl bid.
Here’s a closer look at Jackson and Allen, and their respective journeys to this year’s Arizona Bowl.
Randy Allen, most improved player
It all started at … Inderkum High in Sacramento. He was so lightly recruited that Allen doesn’t even have a profile on Scout.com, Rivals.com or 247sports.com, and he began his college odyssey at the College of San Mateo, where he spent three years, including one redshirt season.
From there … Allen received interest from schools like Iowa State, Houston, New Mexico and Hawaii, but was only offered a scholarship by the Jaguars.
At South Alabama … He started three games at defensive end but made little impact, accounting for only three tackles on the season, one of them for loss. “I didn’t play as well as I thought I should have,” Allen said, “and thought I had to make a change.”
As a senior … Allen flipped the switch, and it was immediately noticeable. In a season-opening upset of Mississippi State, Allen recorded a key sack late in the game to help seal the win. From there, he just kept getting better. Over USA’s first eight games, Allen managed eight sacks, and finished the season with 11, helped by a dominant performance in the Jaguars final regular season game where he had three sacks.
Beyond that, he finished with 64 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, eight quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and one blocked kick.
“I would say the difference is more the work ethic and taking things more serious,” Allen said. “Because I always felt like I had all the talent, but I never took things seriously, so I had to make a decision. It’s my senior year, do I want to be remembered as somebody, or do I want to be remembered just as a guy who didn’t make it.”
The coach says … “He’s the most improved player I’ve ever coached,” Jones said. “Last year he was a very average player, this year he was an excellent player. One of the best players in the conference.”
A bowl win would mean … “A lot,” Allen said, “especially for this program. First bowl win in history, and I would love to be a part of that with these guys and this team. That would be the most important thing.”
Kalen Jackson, injured leader
It all started at … Magee High School in Mississippi, where Jackson was a multi-sport athlete, also starring in basketball and baseball for the Trojans. Without any college offers, Jackson, then a linebacker, spent two seasons at Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) CC where he amassed 125 tackles total.
From there … Jackson spent a season at UAB, along with current USA star tight end Gerald Everett, but his season was lost after just two games before suffering a season-ending injury. That offseason, the UAB football program was disbanded and Jackson, along with Everett, relocated to Mobile.
At South Alabama … Jackson was USA’s best playmaker as a junior, leading the team with 8.5 tackles for loss to go with 72 total tackles, two interceptions and one forced fumble. He was an honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference selection at linebacker.
As a senior … He traded places with safety Roman Buchanon, taking over at the “husky” spot in USA’s defense, which is just the team’s name for its nickel safety. Through South Alabama’s first six games, Jackson was off to the best start of his career, ranking second on the team at the time across four categories: tackles (48), tackles for loss (8), sacks (2) and forced fumbles (2). Then, a week later against Troy, Jackson suffered a broken ankle. It was thought to be season-ending at the time, and he hasn’t played since. He’ll play on Friday, though likely in a very limited capacity.
“When I found out it was broken, I was devastated because I was having a great season,” Jackson said. “It’s been very tough but I had to take on another role, being on the sideline and learning the game from another perspective, trying to help my teammates from a different perspective. It’s been a fun thing, but I’m ready to get back onto the field.”
The coach says … “Kalen is definitely one of our best defensive players, a great tackler,” Jones said. “He’s trying. He really wants to play. We’re going to put him on the field, it’s just a matter of how long he can go.”
A bowl win would mean … “It would mean going out on top,” Jackson said. “I’ve battled back and trained my body in rehab hard to get back to this point. If I can just play a couple plays, make a tackle or two, I’m gonna be good. I’ve come a long way … it would be one of the biggest wins of my career.”
