After Keondre Jackson forced a fumble on Sunday, nobody was surprised when he emerged from the pile with the football.
Jackson has been winning battles ever since he signed with the Ravens as an undrafted rookie. He's gone from the practice squad, to being elevated on game days, to securing a place on the 53-man roster as a special teams standout.
Jackson wouldn't take no for an answer when he wasn't drafted out of Illinois State. He had a dream to play in the NFL, and now he's living it.
"The opportunity to play football, that's all I need," Jackson said after his forced fumble and recovery on kickoff coverage helped secure the Ravens' 27-19 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. "At the bottom of the pile, it was crazy down there, but I'm just sitting down there holding the ball. I knew I had it. I knew I was going to come up with it."
Jackson did a backflip to celebrate his forced turnover that led to a touchdown on the Ravens' ensuing drive. The backflip has become Jackson's signature move. His latest one was smoother than the previous week against the Miami Dolphins, when Special Teams Coach Chris Horton jokingly criticized Jackson's form.
"If you're going to flip, make sure you stick the landing," Horton said with a chuckle.
In addition to sticking backflips, Jackson is sticking opponents on kickoff and punt coverage with six tackles in four games. His speed and tackling ability are helping Baltimore take its special teams play to another level.
Head Coach John Harbaugh loves the physicality that Jackson plays with at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds.
"He has some unique skills," Harbaugh said. "He's a big rangy, fast, explosive athlete who is certainly not afraid to throw it in there and mix it up, which he does at a high level.
"I think he's a football player, and he proves that. He has an infectious personality and high energy. To see it show up on the field the way it has is a great thing to see, and he's building a resume, but now the standard keeps going up for him, and he's raising the bar for himself, which is awesome."
Having a nose for the football is something Jackson has worked on, and he's glad to see it pay dividends.
"The brown thing is a real big target," Jackson said. "Just getting my hand in there when I'm going in for the tackle, we practice that every week. That's been my emphasis lately, get a turnover."
Jackson is an easy teammate to root for, earning his path to the NFL the hard way. Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton described Jackson as "a big ball of energy and is just out there making plays for us."
First-round rookie Malaki Starks has grown close to Jackson from spending so much time together in the secondary room. He's not surprised Jackson has taken advantage of every opportunity to shine.
"We're like brothers," Starks said. "Keondre is so elite at what he does. He's going to be playing in the league for a very long time. He's a special player.
"It's not about how you get there, it's about how you stay there, and what he does is so special and the amount of work that he puts into it and how much he cares, it's awesome."
The Ravens can reach .500 with a victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 11, and it's been a long climb back from a 1-5 start. Jackson has been part of the turnaround, and his career is just taking off.
"Keondre said he was going to make a name for himself, he told me that, and I think he's doing it," Harbaugh said. "He's not No. 39 anymore; he's Keondre Jackson. We're proud of him. That guy brings it."
