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Dennious Jackson might be a 6-5, 335-pound junior college defensive lineman now headed to the University of Kentucky to play but he didn’t grow up dreaming of being a college football player.

He admits he was more about academics in large part because his mother always put a book in his hands.

“I was reading when I was 3 or 4 years old. I would grab old textbooks that belonged to my aunts and uncles. I was a bookworm, kind of a nerd,” the recent UK commit said.

He remembers begging for a telescope at Christmas and had his own microscope at a young age.

“I loved telescopes and constellations. I can still point out constellations and identify them. It was just one of my things,” Jackson said.

Jackson is from a “big sports family” but he thought he would be a basketball player.

“I was a lanky, skinny kid. I grew up a Dwayne Wade and Miami Heat fan. That got me into sports in general,” Jackson said. “I was actually working at a jazz festival in California and met him. He was very human with me. He talked with me for like five minutes. I showed him clips (of him playing football) and he actually told me to keep on my path and I would be great. I needed that coming from him to make me believe even more in myself.”

Jackson went to Contra Costa (Junior) College in California after his prep career in Georgia and admits he had a “poor outlook on his future” at the time.

“My (high school) coach told me he knew a guy there who had some SEC knowledge and experience out there. He got on the phone with him. He understood me as a player and what my goals were. He knew I would be in good hands and what was best for my career,” Jackson said.

At age 12 going into middle school, he was 6-foot tall. At age 14, he was 6-2, 230. He didn’t hit above 260 until his junior year but then blew up.

“I went from 6-2, 265 to 6-5, 325 for my senior season. It was no lazy weight. It was a really heavy workout we did and I just got bigger, stronger and faster,” Jackson said. “Now I am definitely a power rusher. I like to think of myself as a run stuffer. I like to bring the energy all I can. I know (UK defensive line) coach (Anwar) Stewart will help me get the skills to get to the quarterback, too.”

He watched Kentucky football games on ESPN and the SEC Network when he was in middle school and high school and remembers the 2018 and 2021 teams were “really good” when they each won 10 games.

He got hooked on football originally after seeing the Seattle Seahawks play and liked how Kam Chancellor would deliver big-time hits. He said he watched so often that he could name the entire Seattle defense.

“I was a defensive guy after that. I loved shutting down offensive players,” he said. “I take pride in that. I want to be a run stopper and more at Kentucky. If you do not remember me by the end of the season, I didn’t do my job. I want opposing players and also fans to remember who I am.”