Austin Jackson put his career on the line to save the life of his younger sister. But he quickly rehabilitated himself, played a strong college season and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the NFL draft. ran.de tells his moving story.

He has fulfilled his big dream. The offensive tackle Austin Jackson was selected by the Miami Dolphins at the Draft at position 18, is now looking forward to a promising NFL career and will collect a remarkable 13,640,349 US dollars over the next four years.

However, the 21-year-old risked all of this a year ago to save the life of a loved one.

Sister leads under rare anaemia
His younger sister Autumn suffers from a so-called Diamond-Blackfan-Anemia (short: DBA). This is a rare, congenital form of anaemia. Since she was twelve years old, she has had to undergo a blood transfusion every three weeks.

Her condition has worsened over the past year. The doctors recommended a bone marrow transplant because it can prolong her life. However, this requires a suitable donor. As luck would have it, Austin was the most suitable donor.

The operation on her lower back was serious. The doctors informed the O-Liner that his physical strength might suffer from the procedure. In the worst case scenario, a football career would no longer be possible.

And this for an operation whose likelihood of success is uncertain anyway, according to the doctors.

But this time luck was on the side of the Jackson family. The operation was successful.

“The bone marrow transplant allows her body to accept my blood cells,” Jackson explained in February at the NFL Combine. “Thank God we were a perfect match according to the blood tests. This allowed her to completely reboot her system and her body is now producing red blood cells.”

The long process back on the football field
Because of the surgery and examinations around the appointment, Jackson missed much of the pre-season preparation for the 2019 college season, “It was a long process,” Jackson says. “I had to take the whole off-season to go home and be with her. I was training on my own. I couldn’t afford to get sick. Otherwise the trial would have been prolonged.”

Two months after the operation, he returned to his USC Trojan team, but was not yet physically fit. “I had to fight my way back into the season through training to regain my old strength,” he said.

He did this with flying colours: Jackson completed all 13 matches of the season as a starting lead tackle. The reward: He was voted into the “First Team All-Pac-12”.

Father played for the Green Bay Packers
Talent runs in the family: His grandfather Melvin played as a guard for the Green Bay Packers from 1976 to 1980.

Austin Jackson, who is 1.95 metres tall and weighs 144 kilograms, is highly talented but still has technical deficits. His handwork and footwork, for example, are considered to be capable of improvement. Nevertheless, he is highly rated by the experts.

“Jackson has a lot of athletic ability and talent,” says Lance Zierlein of NFL.com. “He’s versatile, has potential as a guard and could be an early starter.” His regular position in college, however, was left tackle, because he’s good at keeping speed rushers in check with his athleticism.

The O-Liner describes himself as a passionate player. “I have a work ethic like no other,” he promises. “I see where my weaknesses lie and I can root them out so I can get better.”