Coach Jac Looks to Get Delaware State Over the Hump in the MEAC

It’s Year 2 for DeSean Jackson as head coach at Delaware State University. In his first season, Jackson led the Hornets to an 8-4 record, which was the most wins they had at Delaware State since 2007.

Jackson, who retired from the NFL in 2022, moved into coaching in 2025. As a new coach, you will learn a lot about yourself, and at MEAC Football Media Day at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Tuesday, Jackson was asked what he learned about himself in his first year at Delaware State.

“​I ​learned ​a ​lot ​on ​the ​go, ​man,” he said. “​I ​think ​last ​year ​I ​was ​excited ​to ​see ​how ​my ​team ​was ​going ​to ​react ​and ​how ​I ​think ​the ​first ​game ​last ​year ​when ​we ​played ​UD(University of Delaware), I ​was so antsy ​to ​see, man, ​coaching ​now. ​I ​didn’t ​know ​what ​to ​expect. ​I’m ​like, ​man, ​we ​gonna ​be ​good. ​We ​gonna ​be ​sorry.  ​I ​ain’t ​know, ​you ​know? ​So ​to ​come ​out ​there, ​I ​could ​see ​us ​had ​a ​success ​and ​play ​that ​first ​game, ​man, ​it ​was exciting. ​I’m ​like, ​man, I ​got ​something ​really ​good ​to ​work ​with, ​man, ​and ​I ​think ​throughout ​the ​process, ​I ​mean, ​there ​was ​a ​lot ​of ​things ​we ​learned, ​from ​discipline ​to ​shooting ​ourselves ​in ​the ​foot ​and ​just ​making ​kind ​of ​bonehead ​mistakes, and ​I ​think we ​corrected ​that ​throughout ​the ​season. ​ ​That’s ​just ​really ​the ​expectation… ​At ​times, ​I ​get ​heated ​and ​I ​be ​losing ​it, so ​this ​year, ​I ​think ​I’m ​gonna ​kind ​of ​try ​to ​take ​a ​step ​back ​and ​not ​be ​too ​emotional ​about, ​like, ​if ​the ​referee ​calls ​something ​or ​my ​coach ​make ​a ​crazy ​player ​or ​my ​player ​do ​something ​crazy. ​I’m ​gonna ​just ​try ​to, ​but ​I ​don’t ​know, ​it ​may ​be ​my ​edge ​to ​keep ​staying ​the ​way ​I ​am, ​so ​I ​don’t ​know. ​I ​don’t ​know ​if ​I ​wanna ​change ​yet.”

After going 1-11 in 2024, no one expected the Hornets to be a factor in 2025, but they were a factor in the MEAC, and they were one game away from winning the conference. However, this season, Jackson and Del State are not sneaking up on anybody, but according to Jackson, that won’t matter; they will have the same mindset in 2026 that they had in 2025.

“I ​don’t ​change ​the ​mindset, ​man,” Jackson said. “​The ​reason ​it ​doesn’t ​is ​because ​these ​guys ​work ​hard. ​​We ​all ​work ​hard ​at ​what ​we ​do, ​and, ​we ​put ​the ​work ​in, and when ​you ​work ​hard ​at ​anything ​in ​life ​you ​gonna ​have ​success, ​regardless. ​That’s ​just ​my ​mentality. ​I ​feel ​like ​if ​you’re ​not ​good ​at ​something, ​the ​more ​you ​work ​at ​it, ​the ​better ​you ​gonna ​get, so ​I ​feel ​like ​with ​the ​work ​these ​guys ​put ​in, ​with ​my ​coaching ​staff, ​man; ​it’s ​only ​destined ​for ​us ​to ​have ​the ​success ​because ​of ​how ​hard ​we ​work.”

As a coach, Jackson was impressive last year, and the team was impressive in 2025, but again, they are not sneaking up on any of the teams in the MEAC, so they will have to be better.

However, after what we saw last season, we can’t doubt Delaware State, and we can’t doubt “Coach Jac.”