INDIANAPOLIS – They called him “Pound Cake,” which, if you think about it, is an ironic name for a football player.
“Pound Cake” certainly does not evoke images of Edwin Jackson, an inside linebacker known for hitting with ferocious force.
But those closest to Jackson would tell you the on-field persona never was evident off the field. “Pound Cake” was a virtual teddy bear once he reached the sideline, a big softie who loved everyone and made it clear to all he encountered.
All of this just adds another layer of sadness to the death of the Indianapolis Colts linebacker Sunday.
Jackson, 26, was one of two people killed when they were struck by a suspected drunk driver early Sunday, according to Indiana State Police. The crash occurred in Indianapolis, in the westbound lanes of Interstate 70, just before 4 a.m. Jeffrey Monroe of Avon, a ride share driver transporting Jackson, was also killed.
More about Edwin Jackson
Jackson and an Avon man are killed along I-70
Teammates, fans remember 'Pound Cake'
Jackson was universally loved both inside and outside the Colts’ locker room. He was the quintessential long shot who’d made it, going from non-scholarship player at one-time FCS college program Georgia Southern – because no one offered him a scholarship – to starting inside linebacker in the NFL.
And he did it all with a perpetual smile on his face.
Those responses you saw from Jackson’s teammates on social media after the news broke? They weren’t players paying lip service. They were genuine statements, as anyone who’d ever met Jackson could attest.
“I don’t want to believe this!” safety Darius Butler wrote in an Instagram post. “One of my favorite people in the world. Always smiling, genuine, upbeat regardless of the circumstances. Taken from us way too soon! Love you bro!”
Former Colts cornerback Vontae Davis added, on Twitter, “It breaks my heart to hear the news about my brother & former teammate Edwin Jackson. He was always such a joy to be around, always smiling and always laughing. An absolutely incredible friend. RIP Ed.”
There was no hyperbole in any of these and the other many, many statements about Jackson. He was always smiling. And he was always laughing. He loved life and it was oh, so obvious.
Jackson loved to tell his story, how he came out of nowhere to make an NFL roster (he started eight games in 2016 but was on injured reserve for all of 2017). He loved to tell the story of how his middle-school coaches moved him to defense because all he wanted to do was hit people. They tried him out as a tight end, only to realize the idea would never stick.
And Jackson loved to tell the story of how he earned his strange nickname in the first place.
It all began when he missed a flight to Phoenix for a pre-draft visit with the Arizona Cardinals. The flight was rescheduled, but Jackson had missed his appointment with the team by then. Knowing he’d have to make amends, his mother, Mary Ellen Powell Jackson, concocted an idea: She’d hook up some of her famous mini pound cakes for him to give members of the coaching staff. An olive branch, if you will.
“I get there and we sit down and they were really mad at me,” Jackson told IndyStar in 2016. “They don’t know who I am. That was my first impression. So, I reach in my bag and pull out the cakes. It’s like the (aroma) went right into their noses. I said, ‘These are homemade, South Georgia pound cakes.’ And I gave one each to the whole defensive staff. They loved them.”
Mission accomplished. A few weeks later, the Cardinals signed Jackson as an undrafted free agent. At his first practice, he realized the story had already made the rounds.
“I got out to practice, and everybody’s calling me ‘Pound Cake,’” he said.
Not long after he told me that story, Jackson summoned me to his locker. He had a gift: A new batch of mom’s pound cakes. I took them home and they were gone by that evening.
You would not be surprised to learn that it brought Jackson great joy the next day to learn the pound cakes were well-received. Jackson was always joyful, and he loved sharing that joy with others, too.
Jackson is gone too soon. But “Pound Cake” would be thrilled to know that’s how everyone who knew him will remember him: Laughing, joking, smiling and loving life.
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