He came to the University of Alabama for the culture, grind, and development of its football program, but Domani Jackson was blown away by the commitment and support of Crimson Tide fans.
The transfer cornerback from the University of Southern California committed to Alabama out of the NCAA transfer portal on Dec. 28, 2023.
He enjoyed life on the west coast in California — coming from a successful program in Mater Dei High School — however, USC was not the institution for him. Jackson was not leaving the Tide, regardless of Nick Saban’s retirement announcement, but Alabama hiring Kalen DeBoer helped the cause. DeBoer’s vibe clicks with Jackson, and he knows he can become impactful on this team. USC won national championships in its history, but Jackson had not seen passion match one of Alabama fans. He explained this on a podcast for Winter Circle Athletics (WCA) on how impressed was with A-Day’s atmosphere.
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“Our spring game, bro, I hop off the bus and there are stairs in our stadium and it’s filled with fans everywhere,” Jackson said about the environment fans created at Bryant-Denny Stadium for A-Day. “It was like a pile of ants, and I’m like ‘bro, what?'”
Jackson said the Los Angeles Coliseum where USC plays its home games and spring games never filled out like BDS for a spring exhibition in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“It was the loudest I’ve ever heard,” he said about BDS. “When we came out, it was the loudest I have ever heard in that stadium and this was for a spring game. I was like, ‘this is completely different.”
Alabama fans care deeply about football and Jackson is seeing it. He made a decision to come to a place that will develop him the best, but now he also gets the support 100,000+ fans wanting him to succeed every Saturday in the fall.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
