Jason Jackson on 2023 team: ‘They are everything that’s good about college athletics’
It’s evident Jason Jackson will hold the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide close to his heart for the foreseeable future.
Nobody could’ve predicted how Alabama’s season would go, but it came to an end in the Super Regional at Winston-Salem against Wake Forest. Afterwards, Jackson explained why he’s going to hold this season’s team in such high regard, and just what they’ve meant to him.
“Congratulations to Wake, and Tom [Walter] and his team. They’ve got a great ball club. I think that they’re very — they’ve had a great year. They’re going to make a good run out in Omaha. They’ve got a very good club. They’ve got a very deep pitching staff. As you saw today, they can really swing the bat,” started Jackson. “Very proud of our guys. Proud of our team. I’ve done this a long time, and I’ve never been more proud of a group of individuals than I am of this group. I think that they are everything that is good about college athletics. I think they are everything that’s good about, just the world today.
“What they’ve shown, the character they’ve shown. The resilience they’ve shown, in these past couple months. I think serves as a great example to hopefully a lot of people, but I know our fans. The kids that watch us play. My son, who’s eight-years old. I’m so glad that he got to see these guys. How they handled every reason to feel sorry for themselves. Every reason to kind of, I don’t want to say quit but like, every reason to just kind of have the woe is me and they didn’t. Every time something happened, they jumped right back up and they kept pushing forward, and they kept pushing forward.”
Additionally, Jackson made sure to point out that it’s a great baseball story, but the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide are more than that, as they’re a story of resilience in general.
“It’s a really good baseball team. It’s a really good baseball team. And it’s also a great story of character and resilience, and it starts with the older guys on our team. … I could go on and on about the players that we have. Their character, how hard they work, how they go about their business. I told them all that, just like I told you, I’ve never been more proud of a group, and I just thank them for letting me come on this run with them,” added Jackson. “They’ve made me a better coach. Just getting to be a part of it. I’m so proud of all of them. I love coaching this team. We all love this university. It’s been a fun ride.
“It’s always hard when it comes to an end, it’s always hard when it comes to an end. But I can’t say enough about these guys and the rest of our team.”
It’s not the end they wanted, but the 2023 Alabama Crimson Tide took their fans on a journey, and it’ll be easy to root for their players moving forward, in whatever they decide to do.
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