This weekend’s LSU-Tennessee game is littered with homecomings.
 
Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, a former LSU assistant under Nick Saban, returns to Tiger Stadium for the first time in Volunteer orange, while LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis, Tennessee’s former long-time defensive coordinator, will don purple and gold for the first time against his former team.
 
But one player has slipped under the radar.
 
It has taken nearly two years, but Tennessee sophomore safety Janzen Jackson, who played high school football in Lafayette and Lake Charles, will make his long-awaited — and overdue — first appearance in Death Valley.
 
“He was running around all day [Tuesday] like a little kid,” said Tennessee sophomore cornerback Prentiss Waggner. “I know he’s pretty excited about this weekend.”
 
Just don’t expect LSU fans to return the favor.
 
Once upon a time, Jackson committed to LSU on Feb. 23, 2008, as a five-star recruit and one of the prized pieces of LSU’s class.
 
He held his pledge for almost a year before throwing a curveball when he signed with Tennessee the day after National Signing Day.
 
Message board bandwidths nearly crashed as LSU fans were in disarray.
 
“I can remember he put the Tennessee hat on at Barbe [High School in Lake Charles], and the room just got silent. There were even a couple boos,” said Shea Dixon, managing editor of TigerSportsDigest.com. “That was probably one of the oddest recruitments of a kid in terms of how it played out that I really remember.”
 
Jackson visited Tennessee toward the end of the recruiting period in 2009 and was blown away by then-Volunteer coach Lane Kiffin and his father, then-defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, not to mention an opportunity to immediately start as a freshman.
 
“Monte Kiffin was the difference,” Jackson said following his decision. “He invented his own defense and has been so good for so long … That was just too much to pass up.”
 
The Kiffins lived up to their end of the bargain as Jackson worked his way into the starting lineup after the first game. But everything went downhill from there.
 
Jackson and two other Tennessee players were arrested last November for attempted armed robbery outside a convenience store near the Tennessee campus.  
 
He was suspended for a total of 12 days and missed three games, including one the week before his arrest after violating team rules before Lane Kiffin reinstated him. He enjoyed a fairly productive season with 37 tackles and an interception.
 
Unfortunately for Jackson, the damage had already been done. National and local media made a mockery of the situation. The three players and a fourth companion fled the scene in a Toyota Prius, and police later found hooded jackets a pellet gun in the car and said at least one of the players was wearing Tennessee apparel.
 
“It was a shock to us,” said Barbe coach Jimmy Shaver, Jackson’s old high school coach. “I hope that the one mistake he did make doesn’t follow him around. I hope people can forgive and forget. He has too many good things to dwell on one negative incident.”
 
The two other players, then-freshmen Nu’Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards, were booted off the team, while Jackson was spared because his charges were eventually dropped.
 
Then, in another unexpected turn of events, the Kiffins bolted west to USC, leaving Jackson without the two people who influenced him to come to Tennessee.
 
Jackson has since turned over a new leaf with the help of Dooley.
 
“I’m also pleased with how Janzen has matured off the field since we got here,” said Dooley, who took over for Lane Kiffin on Jan. 15. “He’s made a lot of progress as a man and a lot of progress as a player, and I’m very proud for him.”
 
Jackson is one of the few bright spots on Tennessee’s defense, which is allowing 27 points per game so far. He is tied for fourth on the team with 19 tackles and tied for second in passes broken up.
 
Jackson has a chance to feast on an LSU offense that currently ranks 115th in passing yards per game, but the possibility of receiving a cool reception of boos Saturday is high.
 
“I’m sure there are some people that aren’t happy about his decision, but that’s something that he had to do for him, his family and his life,” Shaver said.
 
 
 
—-
Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected]