Former Hahnville Tiger star Jha’Quan Jackson has already proven to be a quick NFL study.
After one week of action, the Luling native has not only established himself as the Tennessee Titans’ primary kickoff and punt returner, he is second in the NFL in total return yardage: his 157 yards trail only Carolina’s Raheem Blackshear.
In the Titans opener Sunday at Chicago, Jackson returned five kickoffs for 127 yards and four punts for 30 yards.
The return game was a role he specialized in as a collegiate star at Tulane, something that caught the Titans’ eye. Tennessee selected Jackson in the sixth round of April’s NFL Draft. He returned 60 punts for 677 yards with a score and 36 kickoffs for 772 yards. In 2022, Jackson created a major highlight when he took a punt 90 yards for a touchdown against the Memphis Tigers. It was the second-longest punt return in both Tulane and AAC history.
The Luling native missed four games for Tulane as a senior but made an impact nonetheless as both a wide receiver, a rusher and a return specialist. He finished seventh in the AAC in yards per reception at 16.88 and finished his final season with 26 catches for 439 yards and four touchdown catches. His 87-yard touchdown reception against USC in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl tied the Cotton Bowl record and was tied for the third-longest in school history.
During his time at Hahnville, Jackson played both quarterback and wide receiver. At the former position, he was key for the Tigers. topping the 1,000-yard rushing mark and helping to lead Hahnville to the Class 5A championship game in 2017. That year, the Tigers became the first team and only to win at Acadiana in AHS head coach Ted Davidson’s storied career.
Hahnville went 12-3 that season and finished as state runner-up.
Hahnville’s run that season ended in the state championship game with a loss to Zachary. For Jackson, the chance to compete for a championship was compromised when he suffered a leg injury on the very first drive of the game, suffering a torn MCL. Zachary went on to win 34-14.
“I truly believe this and I’ll go to my grave believing this until the day I die – if he doesn’t get hurt on the first play of that game, he’s a state championship quarterback,” said former
Hahnville head coach Nick Saltaformaggio, who coached Jackson during his time as a Tiger.
Jackson’s ability to make defenders miss is perhaps his defining trait on the field.
“He’s extremely twitchy. I don’t think you could hit him in a phone booth with a bucket of rocks. He’s naturally talented,” Saltaformaggio said, going on to praise Jackson’s work ethic. “I tell my teams you’ve got to be good in the classroom, good in the locker room and good in the weight room, and Jha’Quan was great in all three.”
