SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — Lincoln football coach Matt Jackson returns from suspension to coach his first senior class through their final season as Trojans.
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Lincoln Head Football Coach Matt Jackson returns to the sideline this week after serving a two-game suspension following a disagreement with an official at the end of last season — and his return reunites him with a senior class he has coached since they were freshmen.
More than 20 seniors make up the group. They were freshmen when Jackson started as an assistant coach at Lincoln, and now they are the veterans leading the team in his first season as head coach.
Jackson said the time away from the sideline weighed on him.
"There were a couple of times where I got emotional in my vehicle because, you know, you spend so much time with these guys. Like you said, this class we spent 4 years together, and to feel like I'm always preaching accountability and to kind of feel like I let them down, that hurt," Jackson said.
Now back with his team, Jackson said the opportunity to finish the season alongside the players he started with makes this year stand out.
"You know the opportunity to have this season with the guys that basically we all started together it's special and so you know the goal is to send them out with a bang and you know and obviously have the most successful season that we possibly can have, but it is special, like I said the senior class last year was the first senior class but this one is a little more special because we have the four years together," Jackson said.
For the players, four years together has created a bond that goes beyond Friday nights. Senior running back Reggie Thompson said the chemistry within the group sets this season apart.
"It's amazing. I feel like we're going to thrive to do great and, you know, get it done with… it's like a lot of chemistry, and it's cool like I know everyone and no one is new, and we all get along," Thompson said.
There is also another familiar face back at Lincoln this season. Pat Watkins, a Tallahassee native who played at Lincoln before suiting up at Florida State and later playing defensive back in the NFL, has returned to the school as an assistant coach.
Watkins said coming back to Lincoln is something he had long envisioned.
"It feels great I mean it's a really unique experience something that I always kind of dreamed of you know being able to watch the greats before me like Coach Wilson and Coach Falece to name a few coaches but just saying all the coaching lineage that came before me kinda inspired me to want to come out and do the same thing so, now that I have the opportunity I'm going to try my hardest make sure not make it worth my while but overall it's just been a great experience and I'm super happy to be back," Watkins said.
For the seniors, this season is their last chance to leave their mark at Lincoln. For Jackson, it is his first chance to see one of his classes finish the journey they started together. The Trojans play their first home game of the season at Gene Cox Stadium.
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