Lamar Jackson’s dream of playing in the NFL was significantly fueled by growing up in Florida, a state where football is king.
It’s the same for Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, Eddie Jackson, Nelson Agholor, and Running Backs Coach Willie Taggart, who all spent their youth playing football in Florida.
Any trip to their home state, like Monday night’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, brings the team’s Florida posse closer to its roots.
Jackson remembers playing football at McNair Park in Pompano Beach, Fla. like it happened yesterday. The juke moves, the passes from crazy arm angles, the intuitive plays that have made Jackson a two-time MVP were all nurtured in the Sunshine State. It’s the place where he built his dreams, the confidence to believe that he could become a star that could shine so brightly at quarterback.
“We breed football players down there, it’s just something we do,” Jackson said, recalling his days playing for the Pompano Cowboys. “From Key West all the way up to Tallahassee, somehow, some way, kids are going to be playing football.
“It’s like a big family gathering on Saturdays – youth football. Trying out different moves, competing against people who had the same dreams.”
Before they became Ravens, Flowers and Eddie Jackson already knew each other from their days playing youth football in Fort Lauderdale. Eddie Jackson, who Flowers calls “Bo-Jack,” was teammates with some of Flowers’ older brothers.
“He’s one of the first guys I remember seeing play,” said Flowers, who is six years younger than the 30-year-old Jackson. “I’d watch him when I was watching my older brothers. He inspired me for sure.”
Flowers lost track of “Bo-Jack” when he turned 14 years old and went to high school. Then one day, Flowers was watching an Alabama football game on television.
“I was like, ‘What the hell, there’s Bo-Jack,”‘ Flowers said. “I didn’t even know he was playing for Alabama. He was one of the first guys I actually knew who made it to the NFL. It motivated me for sure.”
The Ravens from Florida are loyal to their roots and to each other. It’s like they’re part of a fraternity, bonded by their background. Flowers smiled when asked why players from his home state frequently hang out together once they reach the NFL.
“It’s how we’re raised, it’s football from the time we were born,” Flowers said. “You’re going to meet everybody from down there before you even get out of South Florida. By the time you get to the league, you probably already knew the guy, or know somebody who knows the guy, or you’ve seen them before.
“We all know how hard it is to get here. It’s motivation to the younger kids who are still down there. It’s a rotation that never stops.”
The fact that Lamar Jackson and Henry are NFL superstars provides inspiration for kids who want to follow in their footsteps. As part of his giving back to the community, Jackson started a seven-on-seven youth football team in Pompano Beach, Forever Dreamers, as a way to help kids from his old neighborhood stay focused on football.
“It’s a huge deal to keep kids out of trouble, to have them doing something when the regular football season is over,” Jackson said.
Leading the league in rushing, Henry hails from the small town of Yulee in North Florida. He has been a great fit for the Ravens both on the field and off and joining a locker room with so many Floridians has made his transition from the Tennessee Titans even more seamless.
“As Florida boys, I think we just all mesh together well,” Henry said. “You can’t really explain it. But I feel like the Ravens – they like Florida boys, so it’s been a thing around here.”
Taggart was an all-state quarterback at Manatee High School in Bradenton, Fla., and became a four-year starter (1995-98) at Western Kentucky for Jack Harbaugh, Head Coach John Harbaugh’s father. There were far fewer Black quarterbacks starting in college or the NFL in Taggart’s playing days than there are now.
While Taggart said he doesn’t talk about his playing days much with Lamar Jackson, they do talk about leadership playing the quarterback position. Growing up in Florida as a quarterback prospect from a previous generation, Taggart is proud of how Jackson handles his role and thinks his Florida background plays a role in his success.
“(Quarterbacks Coach) Tee Martin has done a great job with Lamar for sure,” Taggart said. “And when you come from Florida, football is important. Some of them boys had a football in the room with them at the hospital when they were born. You’ll see more people at those Little League football games sometimes than at the high school games.
“Now so many young kids want to be like Lamar. It’s a responsibility, but he’s handling it great. You see the things Lamar is doing, he’s different. It’s fun to watch. I see him sharing his knowledge with teammates, the way he’s leading him, getting on them, encouraging them, talking to them. Everyone wants to follow him, and the way he’s leading, he’s going to get to where he wants to go, which is the Super Bowl.”
But for Lamar Jackson, the next game is in Florida, a place that’s familiar territory for him, and for many of his teammates.
“Those memories from Florida will always be in your blood,” he said. “I think about those days a lot. It was the beginning of the path that took us where we are today.”