Who is Andrew Jackson?
Before you say the seventh President, key instigator for the Democratic party or the guy on the twenty-dollar bill, hold up.
The Falcons have an Andrew Jackson and while you may have only heard of him because he was recently drafted, you need to sit down for this.
He's starting to cause a buzz in training camp.
No, not a Julio Jones kind of buzz. Probably not even a Jacquizz Rodgers kind of buzz, but a buzz that is considerable for a seventh-round pick.
Don't believe me? Here, check out what head coach Mike Smith said about the Fresno State offensive lineman just a few days ago (he was also talking about Cliff Matthews, another rookie, who we'll get to in a few days).
"They have been a pleasant surprise. Physically, they may be two of the best-looking guys in the draft class," Smith said. "Andrew can play both guard and tackle. We are cross training him, which is a big plus. You have to have guys to play both positions and he doesn't look out of place at the tackle position."
I hope you didn't breeze past those first two sentences. They're pretty important.
Last week while ESPN's Pat Yasinskas was in town, he told me Jackson was thought of highly both in the Falcons organization and around the league. The word "steal" was used.
I did a little research on the guy that stands at 6-foot-6 and weighs 299 pounds.
As a junior, Jackson received Honorable Mention All-American honors. And then his senior season came and the injury that raised concerns for other teams came with it. A high ankle sprain caused him to miss much of his senior season.
Take the injury away and my research shows me that Jackson was highly regarded, some draft sites saying the lineman could go as high as the second or third round.
That definitely sounds like a steal to me, and the Academic All-American is showing in camp that the prognostications weren't wrong. When he's healthy, he can be an important player.
When Smith's comments were mentioned to him he didn't blink an eye. The starter of 31 straight games at one point in college doesn't want the positive comments to end, the expectations to cease or anything said to be based on a few good days of practice.
"That's a great compliment, but for me, I've just got to keep working and keep grinding," he said. "I've got to perform on the field so he says that every day."
He's performing and his teammates are noticing. The offensive lineman are as tight knit as they come and there isn't a more hard-working group on the field. They have a gang mentality and force and strength to back it up.
Third-year lineman Garrett Reynolds is emerging as a critical piece to the Atlanta line and he got there with a lot of hard work of his. I've seen Reynolds go in practice and have spoken to him enough to know he's about as honest as another famous president. So when he says a guy is doing something or making strides, I'm inclined to believe him.
"Oh man, he's worked his butt off," Reynolds said. "He's done a great job so far. He takes coaching. He comes out here and does extra sets with us some days. He's working his butt off and he's learning the system really well."
