2025 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Grant Jackson, DB, Merrimack College

• Name: Grant Jackson 
• Position: DB, (Corner/Nickel)
• College: Merrimack College 
• Height: 5’10
• Weight: 185
• Twitter: @_2trilll
• Instagram: @_2trilll

What makes you a top prospect at your position in the 2025 NFL Draft? 

I compete and I win my 1v1s, I’m a locker room guys, someone that all my teammates love having around, someone who is dedicated to my craft, and whatever organization I am a part of I leave it better than I found it. 

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you?

I’m a technical guy that is going to learn any system or technique in order to help me be successful on the field my stats in college show that and my coaches, teammates and peers have witnessed it. I’m also a guy that you want in your organization because of who I am as a person and how I treat those in my community. I try to bring love everday. Outside of anything that has to do with football, I am a person people enjoy being around and I like to use my gifts to put smiles on faces everyday and I’m glad I’ve been able to do that in every school I’ve been in and every organization I’ve worked with. I want people to feel that love, respect and make it know that I genuinely care about them. 

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be? 

I would donate to Autism awareness and research. Over the past few seasons I’ve been working with a non-profit organization called “You’re With Us” and they specialize in creating better communities by creating inclusive opportunities for individuals with disabilities. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to mentor a few individuals over the last 3 years and go out and have a good time. 

Who was your role model? 

My father Stefon Diggs, Tre Diggs, 

My father is my role model as a man, As an athlete my role models have been the Diggs brothers. My father has been tremendous in raising me and my three brothers and showing us how to love a woman in the way he loves my mother. He has taught us compassion, hard work, kindness, generosity, but also not to take nothing from no one and stick up for yourself. 

Growing up I never played a snap of cornerback in my whole career until college. And I had to reinvent who I was on the field to fall in love with the game again! I didn’t know how or what it meant to play corner. Similar to Tre Diggs ( Even tho he played corner in HS) went to college to play WR and had to switch positions and make a tough transition. His brother Stefon was my favorite player growing up and is still my favorite receiver in the league. We are all from Gaithersburg, MD and played for the same youth organization, Montgomery Village Chiefs, growing up. Tre played on the same team as my older brother one year and my Father was one of the coaches. I also met Stefon once while he came back to watch Tre play. I remember he came straight from a Good Counsel High School football game, with his uniform still half on. Since that day I met him, I wanted to go to Good Counsel, and I did. I knew they were both destined to go to the league and I want the same for myself, but also for my younger brother, Garret Jackson, who is a freshman CB at Merrimack College. 

Who is your favorite NFL team?

Any team that’s gonna sign me!!! 

But that team out Dallas with that pretty star on the helmet been my team since birth! 

Who is the most underrated teammate at your school? 

My most underrated teammate is Brendon Wyatt (Rb). I tell him every game if he touch the ball it’s a good game for us and if I was a betting man I’d bet him to score every game. He’s a sophomore that’s had to share his underclassmen seasons with two talented 1,000 yard rushers ahead of him (Tyvon Edmonds and Jermaine Corbett Jr.). So this next year when it’s his turn, he might crack 1500! 

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

When my socks get wet, I hate stepping in puddles or if someone spill something in the kitchen and I step in it I be blown. 

Who is your favorite teacher ever?

Easily my fourth grade teacher Ms. Johnson!! Or my Spanish teacher my Junior year of High School Dr. Tatum-Davis!! 

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome? 

My hardest adversity to overcome has been my whole journey to college. Not many people know this, but coming into college I had a preferred -walk-on offer to play at Towson University. There was a Coach at the time that told my parents, my coach and myself that I had a preferred walk on opportunity at Towson University, but as communication went through over the summer this preferred walk on opportunity was not honored. I reached out multiple times over the summer to this Coach, asking him about possible conditioning test, when to report to camp and what I would have to do to be ready for fall camp. He told me that I wouldn’t have to report for fall camp and then I should show up when the regular students came. After asking about test and how to be ready  this Coach responded to me and gave me another Coach’s contact and told me that he would handle the rest of my recruitment and transition into the school. So I reached out to that coach and he responded to me telling me that he didn’t know who I was, the team was full, and that tryouts were in February and I was not going to have a spot on the team. I was devastated. I was hurt. I felt lied to and betrayed. 

One day my Coach from high school called me and asked how camp was going and I told him that I was on the couch and that they told me to report when the regular students came. He immediately encouraged me to either take a semester at Towson and transfer or withdraw my enrollment from the school and try to go to a school in the spring. So immediately, I know talk to my parents, and after you know a lot of hard conversations, we ended up having to email the school and the Dean and the head coach to get our money back and tell them what happened and how their coaches had treated us. Luckily they gave my mother’s deposit back. She had put in already $12,000 to pay the tuition for that semester. I didn’t go to college 2019 for the fall season and I had a job working at Modell ‘s sporting goods and It was some of the worst six months of my life. All my friends are in school and going to class and partying, having fun, and meeting people.  I had a girlfriend at the time that was playing soccer at a school down south and long distance was difficult to cope with also. It was tough having to work out at my high school every day waking up at five in the morning and try to get there early enough where people wouldn’t see me work out and leave. They had so many questions of why I wasn’t  at Towson, what happened? or what was wrong ? And it was embarrassing to have to tell them the story. Or tell people you know a different person, the story each and every day.

 My coach at Good Counsel, who helped me with that was Coach Mac (Kevin McFadden). He helped me with my recruiting, so you know he had to connect with Coach Curran to give me to Merimack and once I got on the phone with Coach Curran the rest was history. So shout out to Coach Curran for respecting have having a good relationship with Coach Mac that he trusted and understanding that I was a guy that wasn’t going get him fired, but keep him hired. I was a guy who also had many injuries his senior year in high school. That made it difficult for me to get film. I dislocated my shoulder in the preseason, and then I broke my foot game four my senior season. So going D1 was really a long shot and Merimack had just played their first division one season. Coach Mac, my parents and Coach Curran made that happen for me and I’m forever grateful. 

If you could have any franchise restaurant in your house what would it be?

I would have to choose chick fil an and knowing myself I’d flip it into a lil business and sell chick fil a to the whole neighborhood and make some bread. Chick fil a like a drug people can’t stop once they get hooked so I have to make some profit off that!

What is your favorite snack food? 

There’s too many to choose, and it’s hard cause as an athlete I have to stay away from my favorite snacks but I love honey buns and oatmeal cream pies. Anything Lil Debbie got in the snack aisle or something chocolate like m&ms or Kit Kats!

What is your degree in? 

Undergrad: Bachelor of Science Business Administration, Concentration in Marketing 

Graduate: Master of Arts in Communications 

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why? 

• Jesus, but not his last dinner
• Kobe Bryant, my favorite athlete RIP!! 
• And SZA cause she fine and I love her music, 

What is your biggest weakness?

My biggest weakness is I don’t past the “eye test”. No one has ever looked at me and told me I was the guy. They see me play and have to find out for themselves. But if you don’t know you better ask somebody fr!