Original Titan as good as ever

CEDAR RAPIDS – Throughout the four-year history of the Cedar Rapids Titans, there's only been one No. 93.

Defensive lineman Xzavie Jackson – the only player to have been with the franchise all four years – continues to come back year after year and harass Indoor Football League quarterbacks and ball carriers.

'It's the city of Cedar Rapids,” said Jackson, who makes his home in Cedar Rapids during the offseason. 'It's the ownership group that keeps bringing me back and the city of Cedar Rapids is a great place to be. … I can keep doing it as long as He tells me, ‘Get up and keep having fun.' I'm having fun. Playing still makes me happy right now and that's why I'm still doing it.”

Jackson, 30, is as productive as ever for the Titans. While his eight quarterback sacks this season are tied for second in the league, he has now amassed 54.5 (including a league-high 14 in 2013) during his seven-year IFL career – far and away the most in league history.

'It's a great accomplishment, I'm happy for it,” Jackson said. 'But at the end of the day … It's a team sport and all those sacks haven't won me a ring and that's what I'm really looking for right now.”

Jackson and the Titans can take one more step towards that elusive championship against the last-place Bemidji Axemen (2-11) Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center. Cedar Rapids (8-4) can clinch a playoff berth for the third-consecutive season with a victory. Kickoff is at 7:05 p.m. for what will be the final regular-season home game.

The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Jackson leads the only defense in the IFL to allow fewer than 200 yards of offense (191.2) and less than 50 yards rushing (48.9) per game. They also lead the league with 28 sacks.

'As a team we've got a lot of great athletes,” Jackson said. 'It has taken us long to gel, but it's coming down to the stretch and it's the right time. We're getting solidified. Everybody's finding their spots and finding their niches and coming together tighter as a group on defense.”

Jackson was a four-year standout defensive end at the University of Missouri from 2003-06. In a 2005 victory over Iowa State, he scored his one and only collegiate defensive touchdown on a fumble return. Missouri's successful move to the SEC before the 2012 season led Jackson to draw an interesting comparison between his alma mater and the past three years with the Titans following a 4-10 expansion year in 2012.

'They had a bad season that first year, but everybody has to have that learning curve,” Jackson said. 'Just like us coming to Cedar Rapids – had a bad season and now look at us. We're doing a good job. You've just got to surround yourself with great people, and a great plan, and if you put that plan in motion it's going to work out for you.”

After Missouri, Jackson got a couple of looks from the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL before taking his game indoors.

Spend enough time around a Titans practice, and it's clear that Jackson will have coaching opportunities after his playing days are over. Having already turned down a chance to become Bemidji's defensive coordinator before the season, Jackson never seems to pass up an opportunity to mentor younger teammates and plot strategy with the coaching staff.

'It's always good to have a veteran guy in the clubhouse and the locker room to be able to talk to the younger guys,” Cedar Rapids Coach Mark Stoute said. 'It's one thing for a coach or a coaching staff to say something. It's another thing when that thing is echoed by a player who has been there, done that.”

A playoff berth would mean back-to-back trips to the undefeated four-time IFL champion Sioux Falls Storm. The Titans will face the Storm June 20 to close the regular season, then return a week later for the United Conference championship game.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com