05/10/24 03:03:00
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05/10 14:54 CDT Mark Jackson grew up playing Gaelic football. He's taking a
shot at the American kind in Pittsburgh
Mark Jackson grew up playing Gaelic football. He's taking a shot at the
American kind in Pittsburgh
By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- Mark Jackson does not look out of place.
Standing inside the Pittsburgh Steelers practice facility on Friday, Jackson's
yellow No. 2 blends in with the other 42 players trying to catch head coach
Mike Tomlin's attention during the team's rookie minicamp. At 6-foot-1 and a
solid 214 pounds, Jackson practically towers over Caleb Shudak, the other
kicker brought in for a look.
Things change, however, when Jackson starts to talk. Then it becomes very
evident very quickly that while Jackson doesn't look out of place, he certainly
sounds out of place.
An extended stint in the United States chasing a job he never saw coming has
done little to take some of the edge off Jackson's Irish brogue. At one point,
the 25-year-old from Baltinglass (just over an hour southwest of Dublin) is
asked to spell out the name of his hometown for clarity's sake, a request
Jackson happily obliges.
The way Jackson figures it, if he needs to translate a little bit to fit in,
that's fine. Just so long as the skills he's honed while playing Gaelic
football back home --- think a mishmash of soccer and rugby with a touch of
basketball --- translate to the American version, too.
There's hope, maybe more than a little for a player who had never kicked an
American football until six months ago when Tadhg Leader, who runs a
professional kicking program in Ireland, reached out and asked Jackson if he
was interested in joining the NFL's International Pathway Program.
Shortly thereafter Jackson was training in Florida, where he went through a
combine and participated in a Pro Day. He returned home and earned an
invitation to Pittsburgh after winning the team's inaugural American Football
Kicking Clinic in Dublin.
Yeah, it's been a lot for a player who admits he's spent most of his life
consumed with his home country's national sport.
"When you're a kid growing up in Ireland, the NFL is the furthest thing from
your dreams," Jackson said. "You could say it's a dream but you don't even
dream that big really."
Back home Jackson is a goalkeeper, where if he's not making saves he's blasting
in free kicks from deep, a skill that requires Jackson to drill the white
Gaelic football (which looks like an oversized volleyball) over a crossbar 8
feet off the ground and in between goal posts 21 feet across.
Jackson points out there are only two sports in the world that require a player
to kick the ball directly off the ground through uprights. One is American
football. The other is the game he grew up playing.
"There's definitely transferrable skills there," Jackson said.
Still, working with a snapper and a holder and figuring out the timing of when
to start the motion took some getting used to. The sweet spot on an American
football is also smaller, requiring a little more finesse.
Jackson believes consistency is among his biggest issues. Strength, apparently,
is not one of them. Asked what his range is, Jackson said he's made field goals
from 70 yards out in training. Not while goofing around on kickoffs, but in a
traditional three-step approach.
"I always had a big leg I suppose," Jackson said.
There is a pedigree --- sort of --- for Irish athletes to reach the NFL.
Charlie Smyth, like Jackson a Gaelic football veteran, signed a three-year deal
to kick for the New Orleans Saints in March. Green Bay punter Daniel Whelan
grew up on the Irish coast before moving to the U.S. as a teenager.
As wide-eyed as Jackson can sound about his unlikely journey, he's dead serious
about finding a way to stick. He signed with agent Robert Roche, who represents
Baltimore Ravens star Justin Tucker, and seemed a little puzzled when asked
what he hopes to gain out of his tryout with Pittsburgh, which has one of the
league's better kickers in Chris Boswell.
"Obviously the main goal to come here is to get signed," Jackson said. "That's
why I'm here. I wouldn't be here for any other reason."
If Jackson impresses over the weekend, there's a chance he earns a spot on the
90-man roster to serve as an extra leg during training camp.
Or maybe the NFL's new kickoff rules, which could put a priority on directional
kicking and may require kickers to be more active participants in the return
game will lend themselves to Jackson's particular skillset.
Goalkeepers in Gaelic football serve as de facto quarterbacks at times, using
their legs to direct pinpoint passes to open teammates in hopes of creating a
rush the other way.
"I think it suits us Irish guys, we're not small guys either, we're big and
strong so we can make tackles," Jackson said. "We've taken hits in different
sports. So ... having to place the ball in certain areas of the field, that's
what we've grown up doing. That's our bread and butter really."
And if Jackson finds a foothold in Pittsburgh, all the better. The NFL awarded
the franchise international marketing rights in Ireland last year, and Hall of
Fame Steelers chairman and president Dan Rooney served as the U.S. ambassador
to Ireland from 2009-12.
The team's popularity is one of the reasons interest in the NFL is spiking in
Jackson's homeland, where Ireland's national rugby team is ranked second in the
world. If he can find a job with the Steelers, who knows, maybe the trickle of
athletes trying to transition from one form of football to another becomes a
flood.
"You can see how much the NFL is growing in Ireland," Jackson said. "And yeah,
I want to be part of that."
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