What ever happened to Star Jackson?

[Tidewater]

I'm watching the 2009 season on YouTube (maybe the only Bama football I will get this year.
Va Tech played a thought game. Funny comment from Herbie: "If Va Tech picks up a few first downs, they could get back in this game." Va Tech was up 17-16 at the time.
FIU also played tough (may be the reason Mario was coaching in Tuscaloosa later).
In the North Texas game, Star Jackson got into the game.

What happened to him? I know he transferred to Ga. State, and then left for "personal reasons." I think he did not succeed in earning much playing time and probably wanted to go somewhere he could start. I could not find out where that ended up being.

 

[TexasBama]

He was on the roster at Ga State in 2010 as a backup RS soph. After that, there's nothing on him.

 

[Tidewater]

He was on the roster at Ga State in 2010 as a backup RS soph. After that, there's nothing on him.

Yeah, that's what I'm curious about.
4* recruit signed by Alabama. Got into the games a bit in 2009, GMac decisively wins the starting job, so he goes to Ga State, and can't win the starting job there.
At some point, you might have to accept that football might be just a way for you to get a college degree, but by all means, get the degree. If you just keep transferring in an increasingly vain quest to find the starting QB job, then you are putting the achievable objective, the degree, beyond the realm of possibility.
Young men, especially college QBs do not think in such ways, though.

 

[alabama mike1]

Let's just say his Star burned out quickly for whatever reason. Yes, pun intended.

 

[Crimson1967]

I googled him but didn’t find anything beyond his time at Georgia State.

I agree with Tidewater about all the transfers. You sign with Bama and don’t make it. OK, try somewhere else. That’s fine, not everyone can make it at Bama.

But if you can’t start at Georgia State, just accept it and get your degree. You are in a major market with tons of professional opportunities and a coach that probably knows people.

 

[rolltide_21]

I remember when AJ McCarron signed with Bama and another person and I were discussing it. I said AJ would be the next great QB at Bama. This guy, who was quite a loudmouth, guaranteed SJ would not only start but win 2-3 NCs and AJ would be his backup.

 

[Tidewater]

I googled him but didn’t find anything beyond his time at Georgia State.

I agree with Tidewater about all the transfers. You sign with Bama and don’t make it. OK, try somewhere else. That’s fine, not everyone can make it at Bama.

But if you can’t start at Georgia State, just accept it and get your degree. You are in a major market with tons of professional opportunities and a coach that probably knows people.

When I was teaching at Va Tech, I had a student who was a tight end for the Hokies. he knew he was not going to earn a spot onto an NFL team, so he looked at football as a way to pay tuition. Good kid, who had realistic expectations.
I do not hold any grudge against Star Jackson. I hope he got some kind of degree somewhere. I'm just curious what happened to him.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

When I was teaching at Va Tech, I had a student who was a tight end for the Hokies. he knew he was not going to earn a spot onto an NFL team, so he looked at football as a way to pay tuition. Good kid, who had realistic expectations.
I do not hold any grudge against Star Jackson. I hope he got some kind of degree somewhere. I'm just curious what happened to him.

My memory on it is vague, but I don't think he stuck at GA. St. either. In fact, I was thinking of the situation with Phillip Sims, who transferred to VA and then to Winston-Salem St. He actually was an NFL backup for a couple of years and then ended up as a HS head coach. I know that QB and OL are the two positions which are hardest to evaluate, but I sighed in relief when Tua turned out to be the real deal and it looks like Bryce is also...

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I googled him but didn’t find anything beyond his time at Georgia State.

I agree with Tidewater about all the transfers. You sign with Bama and don’t make it. OK, try somewhere else. That’s fine, not everyone can make it at Bama.

But if you can’t start at Georgia State, just accept it and get your degree. You are in a major market with tons of professional opportunities and a coach that probably knows people.

I also think this COVID19 situation and how it may impact a players professional aspirations reveals why it is so important to take your academic path while you're "doing sports" so serious. Have a Plan B, a solid Plan B and if possible a Plan C. A wise old baseball coach years ago told me "You better have a Plan B because in most cases in life Plan A never works out." He was talking about his players taking academics as serious as we did baseball. It sunk in with me and I majored in accounting and within a few years of college completely understood I was not going to play pro baseball. But I had already started building the foundation for Plan B. I'm glad I did. I'm thankful that coach stressed that to us. He was looking out for more than just his W's and L's as a coach.

 

[Tidewater]

My memory on it is vague, but I don't think he stuck at GA. St. either. In fact, I was thinking of the situation with Phillip Sims, who transferred to VA and then to Winston-Salem St. He actually was an NFL backup for a couple of years and then ended up as a HS head coach. I know that QB and OL are the two positions which are hardest to evaluate, but I sighed in relief when Tua turned out to be the real deal and it looks like Bryce is also...

I believe Star Jackson lasted about a year at Ga State and the last I heard he was going to transfer again. I'm not sure where he went.
By now, at best, he got a degree somewhere and is probably a high school coach somewhere (or some other honorable career).
He had a good QB build (tall, lanky, good upper body strength). Not sure why he did not make a bigger splash anywhere.

 

[jashleyren2]

I also think this COVID19 situation and how it may impact a players professional aspirations reveals why it is so important to take your academic path while you're "doing sports" so serious. Have a Plan B, a solid Plan B and if possible a Plan C. A wise old baseball coach years ago told me "You better have a Plan B because in most cases in life Plan A never works out." He was talking about his players taking academics as serious as we did baseball. It sunk in with me and I majored in accounting and within a few years of college completely understood I was not going to play pro baseball. But I had already started building the foundation for Plan B. I'm glad I did. I'm thankful that coach stressed that to us. He was looking out for more than just his W's and L's as a coach.

Same here. Loved baseball, and still do. Played football and baseball in high school, but certainly didn't stand out in either one. Felt good to hit the two home runs I did, and thought I might be on my way to bigger things. Nah. Even tried out for the Reds farm system, as our head coach had been a scout for them before he took over at Muscle Shoals.

Advice that he gave me, and my welding instructor in high school too, was to go the route of college, and learn a skill. Majored in Accounting at THE University of Alabama, and it's paid dividends for the rest of my life.

 

[Tidewater]

Same here. Loved baseball, and still do. Played football and baseball in high school, but certainly didn't stand out in either one. Felt good to hit the two home runs I did, and thought I might be on my way to bigger things. Nah. Even tried out for the Reds farm system, as our head coach had been a scout for them before he took over at Muscle Shoals.

Advice that he gave me, and my welding instructor in high school too, was to go the route of college, and learn a skill. Majored in Accounting at THE University of Alabama, and it's paid dividends for the rest of my life.

Most college football players, even at Bama, do not make it to the NFL. Merely having been a football player at Alabama is an entree to lots of careers in the state of Alabama (coaching being the most obvious).
I am always happy to see Bama players finishing their degrees because nobody can ever take that away from you. Those college players who put all their eggs in the pro football basket are setting themselves up for a big fall. Every NFL player is one injury away from being out of the league forever. Better have the degree.

 

[TitleWave]

I believe Star Jackson lasted about a year at Ga State and the last I heard he was going to transfer again. I'm not sure where he went.
By now, at best, he got a degree somewhere and is probably a high school coach somewhere (or some other honorable career).
He had a good QB build (tall, lanky, good upper body strength). Not sure why he did not make a bigger splash anywhere.

Lookit, if he's got any eligibility left, the presumptive S*NC, TOSU, could have a Cinderella, OK, Coviderella story replacement for Justin Fields!

 

[Tug Tide]

Out of curiosity I looked him up on Facebook. Not much to glean but here it is...

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1354776689

 

[dWarriors88]

I remember when AJ McCarron signed with Bama and another person and I were discussing it. I said AJ would be the next great QB at Bama. This guy, who was quite a loudmouth, guaranteed SJ would not only start but win 2-3 NCs and AJ would be his backup.

ya I can admit I was wrong now. Kid had all theintangibles, just never pieced it together and was impatient.

 

[TideMan09]

Talk about a true waste of talent & he had the kinda talent that doesn't come along real often

 

[Padreruf]

I can remember the quote he gave after going to Ga State...he was asked about CNS and he said, "He has his way...and if you don't do it his way you're not going to play." Or something to that effect...

 

[Jkl0802]

Newsflash to anyone who has never been in the military or lived with someone who enforces discipline...if someone is responsible for achieving success, and they will be held accountable for achieving success, they typically have authority to do what’s necessary to achieve success! The leader may ask your opinion if they are good, and you may offer your opinion and the leader will listen if you have a good leader, but in the end if you don’t do what the leader tells you to do, you are going to have a very hard time...that’s true if you are in rank in any US Branch of Service and it’s true in most Successful workforce’s. Morale of the story is, Star Jackson should have listened to Nick Saban and followed every piece of advice and coaching commands he gave. Life would have likely turned out very differently for Star, even if he never started a game.

 

[Tidewater]

I don't know that Star Jackson did not do what Coach Saban told him to. For all I know Coach Saban suggested the Star that, if he really wanted immediate playing time, he go elsewhere. (I do not know that, just saying it is possible).
Star got beat out by GMac, and GMac had a disastrous midseason slump. (Bama was winning games despite not because of GMac's QB play). Not starting and watching the starter play poorly maybe ate Star and he decided that if he was not starting, he should move elsewhere.

 

[Jkl0802]

I don't know that Star Jackson did not do what Coach Saban told him to. For all I know Coach Saban suggested the Star that, if he really wanted immediate playing time, he go elsewhere. (I do not know that, just saying it is possible).
Star got beat out by GMac, and GMac had a disastrous midseason slump. (Bama was winning games despite not because of GMac's QB play). Not starting and watching the starter play poorly maybe ate Star and he decided that if he was not starting, he should move elsewhere.

I understand your point, and I don’t disagree with you. Like you I don’t know the reason(s) for his departure. I’m just saying the odds are much greater that he would have been better Off sticking it out than transferring to a lesser school, and usually to another school. What we all know now that I concede players didn’t know then, was that the football players were playing for the best college coach ever, in a program that was about to explode in all aspects, from winning championships, to upgraded facilities, to student athletes Making better grades due to a better program of tutors and ensuring class attendance....to everything. He left the most structured program in college football that focuses on developing players, graduates, people who typically will make the right decision etc.

At some point, almost everyone will learn they are not as good as they thought in HS and they probably will not make be playing on Sunday’s. Great for those who do have NFL careers, but that’s not the majority. However with a degree in hand, playing for and learning from coach Saban just think about your distinction over every other applicant if you wanted to be a college or HS Football Coach, businessman In a high end business, politician, or seek advanced degrees, can you imagine anything better than being an understudy of CNS? Or getting a resume endorsement from CNS? That’s my only point...most people who don’t persevere when things get tough, or don’t go their way, usually end up making a bad decision.