Army football team to take field in honor of player killed in crash

The Army Black Knights come to El Paso this weekend with heavy hearts.

Brandon Jackson, a 20-year-old sophomore cornerback, was killed in a car crash hours after helping Army beat Rice last Saturday.

The Army team chose to play this Saturday’s game against UTEP at the Sun Bowl in his honor.

“He was a great cadet, he was a good student, he was a good football player and he represented this program in a way that I want all of our guys to represent this program,” a somber Army Coach Jeff Monken told the media at his weekly news conference.

“I hope the way we honor him most is by the way we play and the way we conduct ourselves in everything that we do.”

There were some questions whether Army would still take the field at the Sun Bowl this weekend after Jackson’s death. But Army cadets, of course, are trained to deal with tragedy.

“We were engineered to experience all of life’s emotions,” Monken said. “Playing football and getting back to getting back on the field allows us to experience those emotions and we should. We should live.”

UTEP Head Coach Sean Kugler also addressed Jackson’s death.

“I can’t even imagine being a father myself, what his family is going through,” Kugler said.

“I can’t even come close to speak to how Army is going to deal with that. I know they will rally around that guy and play their hearts out. In a situation like that that’s all you can do. But I can’t even fathom that happening to a son or a teammate or a coach. You know, it’s too soon.”

Monken said losing somebody you love is tough.

“This is no exception, where our guys are having a tough time and reeling right now. We’re going to go honor him by living our lives the best that we can and doing it a way he’d be proud, because he’d want us to do that,” Monken said.

There will be a moment of silence before Saturday’s Army-UTEP game at the Sun Bowl to honor Jackson.

Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.