Former Navy SEAL Damian Jackson enters transfer portal; Chris Walker also moves on | Football

Steven M. Sipple, Parker Gabriel and Chris Basnett break down impending decisions from Nebraska football transfer portal targets, plus hoops and Baylor Scheierman.

Damian Jackson has opted to continue his collegiate football career elsewhere.

A senior outside linebacker, Jackson entered the transfer portal Friday, a source confirmed.

The Las Vegas native served four years as a member of the Navy SEALs before walking on at Nebraska in 2018. Although he didn’t play football in high school, he made his way onto the field for the Huskers from 2018 to 2021 as both a defensive lineman and outside linebacker while also excelling on special teams.

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Jackson has said he wants to take football as far it goes, and then he’ll look at his options. Returning to the military is one of them, he said.

He has said his pursuit of a football career was tough. But Nebraska walk-on coordinator Kenny Wilhite and then-NU coach Mike Riley took a chance on him in 2018.

“Every single coach that I came into contact with at Nebraska has built me up,” Jackson said last November. “When I came here, I didn’t know anything about football at all, I didn’t understand plays, didn’t understand anything that was going on, and they stuck with me.”

The 6-foot-2, 270-pound Jackson — a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree — played in 11 games last season, totaling four tackles. He finished with one solo tackle in the opener at Illinois and one assisted tackle against Fordham. He tied his career high with two tackles against Northwestern while adding the first quarterback hurry of his career. He recorded another hurry late in the season at Wisconsin.

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Jackson was awarded the 2021 Armed Forces Merit Award, presented annually to an individual and/or a group with a military background and/or involvement that has an impact within the realm of college football.

Nebraska coach Scott Frost elected to place Jackson on scholarship for the 2020 season. After making a position switch from the defensive line to outside linebacker, he was a contributor on defense and special teams, playing in each of the final six games. He finished the year with five tackles, including a half tackle for loss.

He appeared in two games as a sophomore and one as a redshirt freshman.

Although he didn’t play football in high school, he did participate in soccer and baseball, hitting .316 as a senior at Shadow Ridge High.

Meanwhile, senior defensive lineman Chris Walker, a member of Nebraska’s 2017 scholarship class, also has entered the portal. The Lincoln East graduate provided depth along the line while also contributing on special teams. As a Spartan, he earned Super-State recognition.