Weylin Jackson remembers the moment his family’s life was flipped upside down.
Making a late-night trip to a Walmart in Salt Lake City, Weylin’s mom, Alberta, took her sons to the family bathroom and had them wash off in the sink.
Alberta had told Weylin that they would be setting up a tent to go “camping”, because Weylin was the only one who knew the situation at the time.
That tent, the one that was once a fictional world his mother had created, and soon became a representation of the hardships of life, was home for the Jacksons over the next few months. Weylin’s younger brother Jayden was just eight years old. However, he understood the difficulties of the situation.
Stepping out of the tent, Jayden and his brothers used to go down to the river and grab coins out of the water, knowing that people throw coins in there for good luck.
“He took that to heart,” Weylin told OU Daily. “We used to dig in the river near the tent because people would throw coins in there for good luck, and we used to fish them out.”
Down by the river, the Jackson brothers knew this could be a sliver of hope of getting out of the tent and living their dreams, which he did by becoming OU’s first true freshman to start at defensive tackle on a season opener since Tommie Harris in 2001.
Lost in the hidden indentions of Salt Lake City, the Jackson’s had to earn everything, just so they could keep living. With an absent father, it made living much more difficult, with every day becoming an unexpected adventure.
The Jackson children didn’t see their dad much, as the parents had gotten a divorce before Jayden was even born. Growing up, Jayden looked up to his older siblings and his mom as his biggest role models.
“He leaned on us tremendously,” Weylin said about his younger brother. “We tried to teach him and show him things that we weren’t taught, because we had to find out on our own. We didn’t want him to go through the same things.”
Just like the coins once pulled out of the river, Jayden could always find something that gave him hope for a better future.
For his family, it wasn’t until Jayden started playing football at age six, that they knew he had a chance to be special.
Jayden always played up a level growing up, something Weylin credits his skyrocketing career to, while also giving credit to his natural god-given talent.
“We saw at an early age that football came natural to him,” Weylin, who played football at Anderson University, said. “He’s been a defensive lineman his whole life, and he was already getting sacks and scoring touchdowns.”
Off the field, Jayden and his family kept themselves grounded, with their Samoan culture to guide them through hard times. Weylin mentions that it was built in the family and it is the standards they follow.
“It’s a family culture,” Weylin said. “More so like family culture, but at the same time he also followed his Samoan culture. I guess you could say he followed it pretty well.”
‘We don’t come from a lot’
Born just a few weeks apart, Jayden and Tana Alo-Tupuola have been through it all.
As cousins growing up in Utah, they did everything together. From pretending to be Roman Reigns while watching WrestleMania to playing against each other on NCAA Football 14, Jayden and Tana had a bond that could not be broken.
Jayden and Tana knew they had to stay positive while living in the tent, as relying on themselves and their families was critical of them surviving.
“That’s what type of background we come from,” Tana, an offensive lineman at Georgia Tech, told OU Daily. “We don’t come from a lot. It’s nice that we don’t even have toilet paper or food in the cabinet and all we have is each other. Huge shoutout to our parents, our uncles, the village that helped raise me and Jayden and all the other boys and girls that grew up with us.”
Tana sometimes had to deal with situations with his own family first. Sometimes he couldn’t help out Jayden and his family, but he always made sure to look after the Jacksons whenever he had a chance.
To most people, it would seem like an impossible scenario to have to deal with. But with Jayden and Tana, it revealed a whole new world to them.
“Just growing up in that type of culture over time,” Tana said. “It’ll breed you into being an open person and just being thankful for whatever you have at every opportunity.”
Tana’s family moved to Louisiana while Jayden was still living in Utah, but they met back up in Indiana to play high school football together. Jayden and Tana played at Brownsburg High School for two seasons before moving to Florida to play for IMG Academy in Florida during their junior and senior seasons.
“I think that was the best decision he’s made besides OU,” Alberta said. “He grew tremendously both as a player and as a person.”
Their brothers taught them about recruiting, and the move to IMG proved to be valuable as they learned from former NFL coaches who developed them for collegiate football. Knowing how the recruiting process works from their older brothers, Jayden and Tana trusted their advice with the move to Florida.
“They helped mature us and open our eyes about the recruiting world,” Tana said. “We knew at the end of the recruiting process, we knew we just wanted what’s best for us.”
Now, years removed from the tent in Salt Lake City, Jayden and Tana have found success at their own respective programs. However, it doesn’t get in the way of their relationship with each other. A text shared between the two before their games always serves as a reminder of who they are, where they’ve been and what they will be able to do.
“I’m definitely focused on what I’m doing over here,” Tana said. “But that doesn’t stop the fact that we can’t still support each other.”
‘Awesome to see his hard work pay off’
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, defensive tackles coach Todd Bates and defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis traveled to Brownsburg, Indiana, for Jayden’s in-home visit.
It was their vision for Jayden, as both a football player and a person, that really sold Alberta.
What else do you do when family’s in town but break bread and talk stories. It was great having you both in our home and thankful you made time for us with your busy schedule. We all can’t wait to come H🅾️ME ❤️ Missing my two little guys Mani and Jay #B🅾️🅾️MERS🅾️🅾️NER pic.twitter.com/oir3w0d9wk
— Teine (@teinetupuola) December 12, 2023
While most coaches promise families early playing time, Venables centered his pitch around life first, then how Jayden would develop as a football player.
Through the first two games of OU’s season, that promise has been kept, as Jayden has shown that he belongs in Norman and an SEC-level program.
“He’s himself,” Venables said. “He’s quiet for everybody on the outside, but he’s actually got a big personality with his teammates.
“He’s confident and humble. He likes to have fun but he likes to work. He’s been incredibly consistent through the first two games. All the things you thought you saw going into the first game, and through fall camp, spring ball, summer – it came to fruition.”
Early on, Jayden wasn’t getting recruited enough in Brownsburg and often felt overlooked, and didn’t know what the future would hold for his football career.
Moving to IMG, the interest in Jayden skyrocketed. Not only did it give Jayden a bigger platform to show his skills, it was also the place where he met his future OU teammate and roommate, David Stone.
“That’s Jayden’s brother,” Alberta told OU Daily. “Those two are inseparable. I’m glad Jayden found somebody else when he was at IMG with Tana.”
When Stone was finalizing his recruitment during his senior season at IMG, Jayden had already been committed to the Sooners in July.
Although Jayden had tried to persuade Stone many different times to follow him to Norman, Stone was heavily considering each school, as the world waited for the former five-star recruit to make his decision.
During halftime of a nationally televised IMG game in late August of 2023, Stone announced his commitment to the Sooners — following Jayden to Norman.
Jayden was in the locker room when Stone announced his decision. When Stone came into the locker room with the OU hat on, Jayden couldn’t contain his excitement.
THE moment 5⭐️ DL David Stone committed to THE University of Oklahoma. #Boomer pic.twitter.com/6ZzJ41wA12
— Oklahoma Recruiting (@CBallOklahoma) August 27, 2023
After impressive showings in the spring, summer and fall, Jayden became the first true freshman to start at defensive tackle in the season opener since Harris in 2001.
Now watching Jayden play in front of 80,000 fans in Gaylord Family–Oklahoma Memorial Stadium every Saturday, Alberta realizes just how special it is to watch her son in the crimson and cream.
Coming from total darkness as a kid living in a tent, Jayden is now thriving in Norman. He’s been a key part of a defense that has only allowed 7.5 points per game, and is looking to take a huge step forward under new co-defensive coordinator, Zac Alley.
“It’s awesome to see his hard work pay off,” Alberta said. “I’m glad coaches recognize kids like that. He’s put in the work and I’m glad he’s doing awesome and amazing. I think at times it was a surprise but not a surprise in a way because of how hard he works.”
This story was edited by Gracie Rawlings and Louis Raser.
