[thesportsguru11]

Jackson makes amends with Diaco, slated to return as backup vs. Oklahoma

No Update on Jake Crowder

Coach Diaco made an interesting announcement at his weekly press conference, stating that backup QB Isaac Jackson is back in good standing with him and the team and will be available to play this weekend against Oklahoma.

The news comes one week after reports surfaced that Jackson and senior cornerback Jake Crowder had a verbal incident with Diaco on the plane home from the Michigan game. Crowder's tension with Diaco had escalated over the last few weeks, while Jackson accused Diaco of being a racist hypocrite.

Jackson took the initiative to approach Coach Diaco and apologize for his actions, explaining that he was merely frustrated with his role on the team so far this season and "made an extremely poor choice of words to vent my feelings".

Quote: Originally Posted by Isaac Jackson

I'm a competitor. When I don't get to compete, I get frustrated, simple as that. Coach gave me a chance to prove myself within his program and I'll never repay him for that. I still feel that my play last year merited consideration for me to get a chance at the starting job, but I'm pleased at how well we've started the year. I'll gladly accept my role, whatever it may be, and do anything else just to get back to playing the game I love again. I deeply appreciate the second chance from Coach and I promise I won't let him down.

Jackson helped lead UConn to a 5-1 record to close out the 2019 regular season following injuries to Tanner Dean-Lowry and Jarrett Rivero, not including a loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in last year's Big 12 Title Game. Jackson has a knack for playing well in comeback situations, having led multiple UConn come from behind wins in his time at the school.

Jackson has also played second fiddle for much of his college career to this point. Recruited unheralded behind former Husky QB David Hamilton, I-Jax has been passed up twice now in favor of Tanner Dean-Lowry for the starting QB job in the last two years.

Diaco made it very clear that Tanner Dean-Lowry is still the starting QB. Diaco has not decided if Jackson will regain his #2 spot on the QB depth chart, or if true freshman Alex Paige will instead handle the backup duties.

Nevertheless, this news is very interesting considering TDL's blazing start to the season, including vaulting into the Heisman race early in the season. He has passed for 1400 yards already to go with 12 TD passes. Jackson has only played in one game this season, the opener against Indiana in which he ran for a 37 yard TD with the second stringers on the field.

As of now, there is no update on the status of Crowder moving forward. Crowder was replaced in the lineup last weekend by sophomore Sam Barnett and did not play against Boston College. Crowder will not make the trip to Oklahoma for this weekend's game. Diaco said he was hoping to revisit the issue during UConn's bye next week.