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DeSean Jackson says Delaware State isn’t satisfied after breakthrough 2025 season appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When DeSean Jackson accepted the head coaching job at Delaware State, he made one thing clear from the beginning. The former Philadelphia Eagles star wasn’t coming to Dover simply to make the Hornets respectable again. He wanted to build a championship program capable of competing for the MEAC title and reaching the Cricket Celebration Bowl. Few expected that vision to materialize so quickly.
After Delaware State won just three games combined over the previous two seasons, Jackson guided the Hornets to an 8-4 record in his first year at the helm. Delaware State emerged as one of the biggest surprise teams in HBCU football, finishing one win away from claiming the MEAC championship and earning the program’s first Celebration Bowl appearance.
Moving forward with sustained motivation
The season ended with a 28-17 loss to eventual conference champion South Carolina State in what served as a de facto MEAC championship game. While many viewed the season as a resounding success, Jackson isn’t interested in celebrating what almost happened.
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Speaking with Dr. Kenyatta Cavil on Inside the HBCU Sports Lab during MEAC Media Day, Jackson made it clear that the Hornets have already moved on.
“Last year was last year. We can’t hold our hats on what we did last year. We accomplished some great things. Obviously, we turned the program around very fast, but for us, we understand we came up short.”
The disappointment of falling one game shy of a conference championship continues to fuel the program.
“We didn’t win the big game, which we all wanted to win, and we’ve got a sour taste in our mouth from that game.”
Jackson believes that mentality is exactly what Delaware State needs as it enters Year 2 of his tenure. Rather than trying to recreate last season, he expects the program’s climb to continue.
“We want to come out and continue to build off what we already did last year. We’re not going to take a step back. Our trajectory is always going up.”
That identity began taking shape almost immediately after Jackson arrived on campus. The Hornets quickly established themselves as one of the most physical teams in the MEAC, leaning heavily on a dominant rushing attack that led the FCS at 291.2 rushing yards per game while totaling 3,494 rushing yards during the 2025 season.
Jackson believes that physical style perfectly matches the conference they play in. Speaking during his appearance on The Pivot, he described exactly what he wants Delaware State football to represent.
“We’re very aggressive. We’re very personal as well. It’s a high standard. We don’t dumb down our standard for anybody.”
He quickly learned that surviving the MEAC required even more toughness than he initially expected.
“For us, we’re very physical. I feel like the MEAC conference was a lot tougher than our nonconference games were. I was thinking the hardest part was going to be nonconference. Then we got to the MEAC, and those were some tough, nitty-gritty games. Every MEAC team you’re going to see is going to be very physical.”
Jackson embraces the new era of coaching
Jackson also discovered that coaching in today’s transfer portal era presents challenges few first-year head coaches have experienced before.
Delaware State lost two of the top running backs in the FCS—Marquis Gillis and James Jones—forcing the Hornets to once again reshape their roster during the offseason.
Jackson acknowledged that rebuilding has become part of modern college football.
“The dynamics have changed tremendously. From the team we had last year, it’s going to be very different from the team we have this year. We lost some guys to the portal. We lost some graduate guys. We had to go in the portal. We had to find guys. We had to find Division II guys, JUCO guys. We just had to rebuild the team, and that’s what we did.”
Even with roster turnover becoming commonplace, Jackson still prioritizes building genuine relationships with his players. He understands many of them may only stay for a season, but believes earning their trust remains essential.
“The new dynamics of college football—you don’t have time to invest with the kid long term. You may have a kid for a season, and you look up and he’s going to hit the portal, especially the kids that are the better kids. For me, you’ve got to get personal with them, but you’ve got to understand, too, you may not have them long term.”
Even with roster turnover becoming commonplace, Jackson still prioritizes building genuine relationships with his players.
He understands many of them may only stay for a season, but believes earning their trust remains essential.
“The new dynamics of college football—you don’t have time to invest with the kid long term. You may have a kid for a season, and you look up and he’s going to hit the portal, especially the kids that are the better kids. For me, you’ve got to get personal with them, but you’ve got to understand, too, you may not have them long term.”
That philosophy stems from Jackson’s own playing career. He said the coaches who impacted him most were those who understood there was more to life than football.
“The coaches I respected were the ones that could relate to me and understand what I’m going through in my daily life, because it’s not always about football. You may be going through something at home. So, for me, I’m just very personal with my players, and I understand them. I don’t expect nobody to be perfect because we’re human. We’re going to make mistakes. But to correct them and learn from it is the biggest thing I’m in this position for.”
Jackson believes that trust creates accountability.
“If I respect you, I’m going to go the extra effort. I think that’s building that relationship where they can understand: ‘You want me to run through this brick wall, but why do you want me to run through this brick wall?’ Because I’m going to run through it with you. That’s how you accomplish it.”
Lessons after Jackson’s first season
Perhaps the biggest lesson Jackson learned during his first season had nothing to do with X’s and O’s.
After taking the job with no prior head-coaching experience, he admitted he often had to learn through trial and error.
“If we’re going to be honest, I didn’t really have any experience. Maybe that’s the reason why people probably didn’t say we were going to have success. ‘He doesn’t have any experience. He’s never been in a situation or coaching criteria like this.'”
He added, “I learned on the go. I learned on the fly, and I get better with time. That’s just how I look at my life and my career.”
Those lessons came in real time.
“Last year was a huge year for me because I was able to get in situations and scenarios where I couldn’t have been coached. It’s one thing to be told, but when you’re in those bullets and decisions—’I’ve got to call a timeout’ or ‘We’ve got to go for it on fourth down’—I couldn’t have gotten better at it unless I went through it.”
Now entering his second season, Jackson says he has one guiding principle he’ll trust more than ever.
“I’ve got a whole year under my belt, and 85% of the time last year, I went with my gut. The 15% when I didn’t go with my gut is when things didn’t go as planned. One thing I did learn is to go with my gut. You’re going to see a lot more of me going with my gut.”
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