Ja'Quinden Jackson's tattoos tells the story of why he keeps fighting

SALT LAKE CITY — Before every game, Ja'Quinden Jackson kisses one of the many tattoos on his body.

The one with the most meaning, and the one he kisses each week, is a portrait of his late grandfather on his arm. Before he passed in 2013, Jackson's grandfather was "my best friend" and was "like my father figure in my life; he was my dawg," Jackson said, perking up as he talked about him.

For Jackson, that tattoo specifically, and every other one he has lining his body, has a special meaning, and each are with him every time he plays the sport he loves. When football is not in full action, Jackson often uses ink as his form of therapy.

"It's basically my therapy when I don't have football," Jackson said.

While a constant reminder to Jackson with the art that decorates his arms, each tattoo is a story — a meaningful piece of the puzzle — that makes up who he is as a person. It's a visual record of the people he's lost, or the memorable moments in his life he wants to remember. It's as much a part of him as the struggles he's overcome his whole life.

"Before I even got my first tattoo, my mom told me, she was like, if you're gonna get a tattoo, make sure it's meaningful," Jackson said. "So I can go to every tattoo and tell you what every tattoo means. But most of my tattoos are people that I lost, and the other ones basically represent me as a person."

Jackson has lost a lot of the people he loves, and they all have a spot somewhere on his body where he can remember them. But all of it helps him remember who he is and why he continues to push forward, even when adversity strikes — a seemingly constant for Jackson.

It's a reminder that life is messy, even when everything is moving in a positive direction.

Take the 2023 season, for example. It's not been the year Jackson hoped he'd have in his first full season at running back.

The former four-star quarterback was primed to have a breakout season in the backfield as Utah pursued its bid for a third straight Pac-12 championship. He put in the work in the offseason to learn the position, coaches praised his talent and ability, and he locked up the RB1 spot in fall camp.

Jackson was coming for a highlight-worthy season.

Prior to the first game of the season, though, Jackson was limited by an injury to one of his ankles. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said it was an injury where time and rest were the only ways to help Jackson fully recover — time Jackson felt he didn't have, especially with an already injury-riddled roster that hampered Utah's plans.

So Jackson continued to fight through the pain, at times leaving games in significant pain as he hobbled off the field in obvious discomfort. And outside of a missed game against Oregon State, Jackson has continued to put himself back on the field — all while his workload seemingly increasing at times.

"I'm hungry, I guess," Jackson said. "I'm hungry for the game, hungry for us to win."

More importantly, though, Jackson said he continues to put his body on the line for his family. Injured or not, Jackson said he's got something to prove — even if that means he's doing it not fully at 100%.

"Just showing that we didn't raise no weak links, just trying to be there for the team," he said.

Jackson has rushed for 627 yards (5.14 avg.) and four touchdowns this season in nine games, but he's been clearly limited by his injury. He's not alone on the team, with others facing similar situations, but Jackson has become a vital piece to the offense.

But now that Utah is out of contention for the Pac-12 championship game, there's reason to wonder if Jackson should take some time off to heal up — for a bowl game or for a potential shot at the NFL (a decision he hasn't considered at this point of the season yet).

Any notion of resting a player just because Utah isn't in contention for a conference title is not something Whittingham wants to entertain.

"No, not at all," Whittingham said. "We would never let a record or wins and losses dictate that — the safety of the player or the health of the player. If he feels good to go and he's ready, then we go. So that doesn't enter into the equation. It's completely dependent upon the safety of the player and where he is physically and how ready he is."

It's not something Jackson is willing to entertain, either, as he continues to fight — for his family, for the ones who've passed, or simply the pride that comes by not quitting.

Football remains Jackson's No. 1 therapy to the ills of the world, and he's not ready to hang it up just yet.

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