<table> </table> COLUMBIA | Kenji Jackson can&#8217;t wait to see how the other half lives, even though he&#8217;ll have to wait until Nov. 29 to see it.</p><p>That&#8217;s when Jackson &#8212; a true freshman dressed in black and gold &#8212; will take up his position as Missouri&#8217;s nickel back against Kansas in the Border War on Nov. 29 at Arrowhead Stadium.</p><p>And to think, he could have been wearing the crimson and blue of the Jayhawks, a team he is being told he needs to despise.</p><p>&#8220;I was real close to going to Kansas,&#8221; said Jackson, a 5-11, 200-pound safety out of Mansfield, Texas.</p><p>That was in December 2006, right after a recruiting visit to Lawrence. The thing was, Jackson visited Missouri the following weekend and met loquacious former Texan and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.</p><p>&#8220;He kind of took me under his wing,&#8221; said Jackson.</p><p>Said Weatherspoon: &#8220;He didn&#8217;t have a choice.&#8221;</p><p>Chances are, Jackson won&#8217;t play a pivotal role in who wins Border War 2008. But Jackson, who has 36 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in 10 games as a true freshman, might do that in the coming years.</p><p>Having started just one game, against Kansas State, Jackson&#8217;s current total makes him the fourth-leading tackler among returning players for next season, and the No. 1 tackler at a safety position that loses starters William Moore and Justin Garrett.</p><p>&#8220;You see him in practice and you know he is ready to go,&#8221; MU coach Gary Pinkel predicted early this season. &#8220;He&#8217;s going to be a high-level player.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s why Pinkel didn&#8217;t hesitate to pull the redshirt off Jackson in just Missouri&#8217;s second game. With MU losing so many players at the end of this season &#8212; cornerbacks Castine Bridges and Tru Vaughns are also seniors &#8212; Pinkel has needed to lay some bricks early.</p><p>&#8220;This year,&#8221; Pinkel said, &#8220;I thought &#8230; it was important just to build a base. It maybe hurt us a little bit, but I thought it was important.&#8221;</p><p>Jackson certainly hasn&#8217;t hurt the cause in his first year. In fact, his seven tackles in a three-point victory at Baylor were huge.</p><p>Jackson contends one of his best characteristics is being humble. He readily notes he has turned himself into a sponge every day at practice, picking up pointers from Moore and Garrett.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m learning a lot from those guys,&#8221; Jackson said. &#8220;They&#8217;ve been through so much, and I&#8217;m just starting. But I&#8217;m learning pretty fast.&#8221;</p><p>Jackson&#8217;s name is frequently mispronounced. Sure, it looks like Ken-jee. But it is really Ken-juh.</p><p>His paternal grandfather was a Navy man and ran across the name while in Africa. Prior to Kenji&#8217;s birth, his parents gave naming rights to his mother&#8217;s family if Kenji was a girl and to his father&#8217;s side of the family if Kenji was a boy.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a boy, obviously,&#8221; Kenji said, grinning easily.</p><p>Arriving at Missouri, Jackson was assigned the No. 13, a number that might have given pause to many players.</p><p>&#8220;At first I wasn&#8217;t too sure,&#8221; Jackson said. &#8220;Then when I found out Pig Brown (former MU star safety) wore it, well, OK.</p><p>&#8220;If it was good enough for Pig Brown, then it would be good enough for me.&#8221;</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> @ Go to <strong>KansasCity.com</strong> for video blogs from the KU, K-State, MU and college football beats.</p><p></div>