The University of Tennessee football program has done everything it can do for Janzen Jackson.

Tennessee All-SEC junior safety Janzen Jackson

It’s time for Jackson to try returning the favor.

And it's time for everyone to look forward.

Jackson, a talented but troubled All-Southeastern Conference junior safety, re-enrolled at UT this week for the second session of summer school after dropping out this spring for undisclosed personal reasons.

The hope on this end is that Jackson cleans up his personal situation as well as he’s cleaned up so many plays for UT’s defense the past two seasons, because some things supercede a young man’s ability to succeed in sports. Nothing is more important than a young person’s physical and psychological well-being, and sources all around the Volunteers’ program swear Jackson needed to step away this spring.

With no reason on the record, we can take second-year head coach Derek Dooley at his word or remain skeptical. Jackson’s past isn’t a favorable one off the field, but UT’s staff has maintained from the outset of this absence that their star safety’s problems were serious, and that he approached coaches with the idea to step back and straighten out the situation.

Fair enough. If that’s the case, kudos to the kid for admitting there was a problem. That’s the first step, isn’t it?

But on the flip side, how do you argue with someone who brings up the defensive back’s past?

It’s no stretch to suggest that someone with a history less checkered than Jackson’s would be given more benefit of the doubt here. But Jackson’s past is what it is, and it adds equal parts intrigue and skepticism to the mystery.

Janzen Jackson

That’s not to say Jackson’s issues aren’t serious. I don’t insult the people I cover by pretending to understand their backgrounds. My parents, who are still alive and happily married, worked hard to give me privileges they didn’t enjoy as children. My father was the ninth of 10 children in a poor family, and both his parents died before he reached high school. Three decades later, I went to private schools and came home to a stocked refrigerator in the kitchen and cable television playing Chicago Cubs games in my bedroom. I got everything I ever wanted for Christmas, even when my parents knew I didn’t need it or wouldn’t want it after a few weeks. I never wanted for anything. And I was still dismissed from a preschool and an elementary school until doctors discovered I had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — which, as anyone close to me knows, I still struggle with on a near-daily basis. Those who claim ADHD isn’t a legitimate ailment have never dealt with it, in my opinion. It causes miserable moments for you and those around you, but I’ve always had a solid home base of relentlessly reasonable family and friends. Some people struggle with more serious issues, and they’re never surrounded by similarly solid structure. That should sadden all of us.

Some of the issues student-athletes deal with — poverty, broken homes and woefully-inadequate education, for example — can sour the strongest stomachs. All too often, we chastise athletes’ poor performances on the field and disappointing decisions off the field without wondering what caused them. I do it. You do it. We all do it. That’s why my favorite part of covering college sports is studying the transformation of children to adults, and that’s why I try not to judge young people for their mistakes. Where would any of us be without those who guided and refused to give up on us? My elementary school teacher told my mother I was a bad kid, and my mother — a good Catholic woman — offered a rather unholy response while standing a few feet from a statue of Mary. My father threatened to rearrange the face of a high school baseball coach who threatened to kick me off the team for a stupid prank I pulled as a sophomore.

Forgive the possible pretentiousness here, but covering sports isn’t always about sports.

I love sports, but I don’t care who wins college football games. Many don’t understand that, but I really don’t. I care about young people finding and maximizing their potential, and I don’t mind a few detours along the way. In some ways, that sweetens the final story. And I don’t care if those stories come from Knoxville, Tuscaloosa, Athens, Gainesville or Auburn. Some journalists like to plant trees, and some like to burn them down. I keep a lighter in my pocket — we all do, we all have to — but I prefer planting.

A former college football coach once gave me a great answer — albeit off the record — after being asked several times in several ways why he chose to keep giving a particular player so many chances. The coach finally asked to go off the record and said that player would be “in jail or dead” without football, and that he’d sat in his mother’s living room and promised he’d take care of her son. I bought it. Maybe I’m soft. Maybe I’m naive. But I bought it then, and I still buy it. Some infractions are intolerable. More are reparable.

Still, it’s fair to question the motive behind this decision.

It must be noted that coaches are hired to win and fired when they lose, so special talents receive special treatment. Sports are no different than anything else in that regard. Janzen Jackson’s ability has given him yet another chance that perhaps a less-talented player wouldn’t have had. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to debate that.

A walk-on would surely be dismissed for similar offenses. A serviceable-at-best scholarship player would probably be dismissed. Any replaceable player might be dismissed. But this team can’t replace this player. Several SEC teams could replace him. Tennessee can’t. Not now.

Janzen Jackson

Let’s be honest about this: UT the past few years hasn’t come close to resembling the program it has been and probably will be in the future. There’s no need to keep looking at the reasons for the downward dip. We know the reasons. We’ve discussed and dissected the reasons as much as they can be discussed and dissected.

At some point, you move forward. You stop thinking about the destruction and start thinking about the rebuilding. You have to.

By most accounts, Tennessee football needs Janzen Jackson.

By most accounts, Janzen Jackson needs Tennessee football.

Jackson has a rough history, but he still has his rights. No public documents have surfaced regarding his latest absence, and he doesn’t necessarily owe the public an apology for anything related to this specific incident. Perhaps his past suggests it would be best for him to come clean — at least to his teammates — but perhaps the more appropriate path is one that respects his privacy.

Most of this situation is foggy, but this much is clear: Janzen Jackson owes it to UT to put forth his very best effort on and off the field from this point forward.

Dooley, his administration, his assistant coaches and his other players have publicly stood behind Jackson at every turn. Few if any would have blamed them for moving on at this point, but they haven’t. They’ve let him back in school, and they’ve let him back on the team.

This is a forgiving country, especially toward celebrities, and Jackson is a celebrity around these parts. He’s the Vols’ most proven player. Considering how well he played in the Music City Bowl despite missing most of the team’s preparation, he’s probably still the Vols’ best player. Even on a mediocre team, that means something to the people here. Special talents are almost always given special treatment.

Successful people like to say no one believed in them. That’s rarely if ever true. Someone, somewhere believed in them. Maybe it was a parent or grandparent. Maybe it was a teacher or preacher. Maybe it was a coach or counselor. But someone, somewhere believed. And they kept believing.

Janzen Jackson has been given another chance to fix his story. He needs to make every effort toward doing just that. Maybe he does it. Maybe he doesn't. But he must try his best. He must do everything he can to be where he's supposed to be and do what he’s supposed to do when he’s supposed to be doing it. He owes that to those who supported him.

This can work, but only if both sides play their part.

UT has again stood up for Janzen Jackson.

Now he needs to do the same.

Contact Wes Rucker at wrucker@247sports.com, www.twitter.com/wesrucker247 or www.facebook.com/wesrucker247