Jackson He’s journey to becoming first Chinese-born FBS player to score TD rooted in perseverance
TEMPE, Ariz. (BVM) – It was a game between two teams with a combined record of 0-6 and long out of reach late in the fourth quarter, but Arizona State’s sideline erupted as if it had just won a Pac-12 title on Dec. 11. It wasn’t a conference championship, rather a 70-7 beatdown of rival Arizona, but the Sun Devils had just witnessed history.
Jackson He, a walk-on, scored on a one-yard touchdown run and became the first and only Chinese-born to carry the football in FBS history. The redshirt junior bulled over a defender at the goal line and was swarmed by his teammates in the end zone as he pointed to the name on the back of his jersey.
“It’s just crazy to know that we’re a big family,” He said on a Zoom call with local and national media outlets on Thursday. “We all love each other and we’re happy to see people succeed.”
Action Jackson 🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/QoRVqWmfdl
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) December 12, 2020
A native of Shaoguan, He moved to the United States at 17 in 2014. Coming over with a group of other high school students, He had the blessing of his parents who wanted him to take advantage of the educational opportunities in the U.S. Born He Peizhang, it’s common for Chinese students to Americanize their name to better fit in, and because of He’s affinity for Michael Jackson’s music, the running back chose Jackson.
He landed at Lutheran High School (now Victory Christian), a small private school in Chula Vista, Calif., where he dabbled in table tennis and basketball before being exposed to football for the first time.
The parent of a classmate encouraged He to try the sport because of his large size.
“I wanted to try things because I came into a new environment so I was just like, ‘OK, I’m going to try it. That’s how it started,” He said.
Football helped He learn a new language and so too did his favorite TV show: The Big Bang Theory. Although the sport brought He a new circle of friends and helped him acclimate to his new environment, he didn’t tell his parents about his involvement in football for several months, knowing they perceived it to be a violent game.
Coming to Lutheran as a senior academically, He reclassified to learn the sport better and improve his English after being named the team’s Most Improved Player. This extra year of experience led him to the University of Jamestown, an NAIA program in North Dakota, where his high school coach had played.
He redshirted his first year, once again adapting to a new environment and an even more complex offensive scheme, but came back the next season and rushed for a respectable 376 yards on 80 carries. Then, a coaching change and dislike for the cold weather led He to return to China.
A surge in the popularity of the sport in China allowed He to join a club team and volunteer with a local youth football group. He wanted to return to college in the U.S., and it was a club teammate who attended Arizona State who suggested that He look into the school. He applied and was accepted for the 2019-20 school year.
But He had to convince the Sun Devils’ football staff to welcome him on at a position that they were set at, and he did that with his persistence, work ethic and respect. Those traits, along with He’s backstory, sold running backs coach Shaun Aguano after three visits. Aguano lobbied head coach Herm Edwards to give He a chance, and history has since been made.
From He’s perspective, his readiness in that historical moment is a lot like how he lives his life.
“This is what life is,” He said of his football journey. “There’s going to be a lot of people who are really good at this position, but I think you just have to be prepared for everything that’s coming to you so when your chances come you can just take over.”
He went from an unknown redshirt walk-on to an international icon in the span of a few hours, but he’s been embraced by his Sun Devil teammates from day one.
In a gesture that brought him to tears, He was presented a jersey with his name on the back of it in Chinese. Just last week, co-defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce showed up to practice wearing a T-shirt with Chinese writing on the front that read “Chinese can ball too.”
let ‘em know.
中国人也可以打球@actionjacksonhe x @AntonioPierce pic.twitter.com/2SgqIDfNlB
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) December 17, 2020
Arizona State’s game at Oregon State on Saturday was live streamed on Tencent, a leading Chinese video streaming platform which has over 900 million monthly users, because of fan interest generated by He’s accomplishment.
For an athlete and moment that will live on forever, He’s message to the next Chinese-born FBS player to score a touchdown is rooted in work ethic.
“Sports are the only thing that you can get out whatever you put in,” He said. “Hard work pays off, that’s true. Keep working hard, nothing’s promised. You just have to work for it.”
chase your dreams. pic.twitter.com/zD5NDRTeZg
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) December 15, 2020
