Iowa State Cyclones’ wide receiver Daniel Jackson (16) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — The searing image occasionally creeps into Daniel Jackson’s mind.
The Iowa State wide receiver’s car is engulfed in flames. His windshield’s crushed. He’s exiting the vehicle in a daze as a high school senior, lucky to be alive, and unsure if he’ll play football again.
“Sometimes I think about that,” the now healthy, but oft-injured Cyclone senior said on media day in advance of what he hopes will be a breakthrough final season. “It’s like, man, it could all be over just like that, you know?”
The memory of that horrific car accident doesn’t haunt Jackson. It propels him forward. It helps make the 6-2, 210-pounder from Cibolo, Texas one of ISU’s most celebrated seniors — and a standard-bearer for a program that seeks to translate precision and perspective into its seventh winning season in the past eight years.
“I think Daniel’s one of those guys that epitomizes our program,” said Cyclone head coach Matt Campbell, whose team finished 7-6 overall and 6-3 in Big 12 play last season. “He’s been through so many ups and downs, and unfortunately that’s what football at the collegiate level can bring. From injuries to just battles he’s had to go through and to be still standing going into his senior year, I think it says a lot about who he is and, hopefully, it says a lot about what our program stands for, as well.”
Campbell’s program straddles a crossroads of sorts this fall. The media picked ISU to finish in the middle of the pack in the now 16-team Big 12. The Cyclones also return a FBS-leading 86 percent of their production according to ESPN data maven Bill Connolly — and Jackson’s receiving room is brimming with talent, which means it will be possible to pass to set up the run if opposing defenses load the box again this season.
“We have all the confidence in the world in each other,” said senior receiver Jaylin Noel, who has caught 60-plus passes in each of the past two seasons. “And that confidence has been built by us pushing each other and us seeing what each other is capable of. When the ball’s in the air, we just have the confidence our guys are gonna go get it.”
Jayden Higgins totaled 983 yards through the air last season and scored six touchdowns. Noel amassed 820 receiving yards and scored seven touchdowns. Jackson snared six catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns in a pivotal 34-27 win last season over Oklahoma State. Add in North Dakota State transfer Eli Green (877 receiving yards, three touchdowns), deep ball threat Beni Ngoyi and athletic Army transfer Isaiah Alston — not to mention talented tight ends such as Ben Brahmer — and ISU could boast the best complement of pass catchers in the Big 12.
“I’m super lucky to have all those guys,” said Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht, the reigning Big 12 offensive freshman of the year. “And super lucky that we’ve added a bunch of guys with success and experience. Each one of those guys is gonna help us out during the season.”
And guys like Jackson may be the most important for an ISU team intent on challenging for a Big 12 title this season. Under the radar guys. Undervalued guys. Players who’ve paid their dues on both sides of the ball — particularly on a Cyclone defense that’s ranked in the top three of the Big 12 in points allowed for seven straight seasons.
“Whether you’re the starter or whether you’re the ‘whatever,’ everybody’s getting the same coaching, everybody’s getting the same treatment,” ISU senior defensive end Joey Petersen said. “You’re all held to the same standard and it just helps you have that confidence.”
Every practice rep matters. Every play’s significant. Nothing’s remotely taken for granted, especially for someone like Jackson, who’s buffeted waves of adversity to come out wiser and more determined on the other side.
“Everybody’s excited that somebody else is making a play,” he said. “We feed off of that because the next play turns into the next play and the next play — and it might not be you, but the next one might be you. So we’re excited.”
As Jackson spoke, Higgins crept alongside him.
“This is the guy right here,” the Cyclones’ leading returning receiver said of Jackson, who smiled faintly but confidently through the impromptu praise.
He’s not wrong, Becht echoed.
“We need to continue to raise his confidence up because when his confidence is up he can be one of the best players on the team,” Becht said of Jackson.
One of the most grateful, too — especially when looking back on that life-altering accident.
“A couple times a month I think about it,” Jackson said. “It kind of brings me back to reality, like, ‘OK, this can all end. Let’s take this serious.’”