As the top center prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, Jackson Powers-Johnson is a household name among scouting circles. Who are his parents, though, and what was his upbringing like?
A Look At Jackson Powers-Johnson’s Parents
Powers-Johnson had a different upbringing than many other players in his draft class. While his mother Jennifer Powers-Johnson has been around all his life, his biological father has not.
Instead, his stepfather has taken over the dad duties for the offensive lineman so much that Powers-Johnson adopted his name when he was in college.
Getting To Know Powers-Johnson’s Stepfather
James Johnson married Jennifer when Jackson was just three years old. While the stepfather acknowledged there were some struggles early on in the relationship, it didn’t take long for Jackson to fully see him as his father.
It got to a point that, during his time in Oregon, the center wanted to make the change permanent.
“When I was 18, I ended up changing my name to Powers-Johnson,” said Jackson. “The Powers in it is my mom’s maiden name and the Johnson is my dad’s name- my dad being my stepdad pretty much raising me my entire life since I was three years old.”
“I ended up face-timing my dad, and my mom’s kind of in the background, and she’s about to know what’s going to happen,” Jackson told KVAL in Oregon. “I go, ‘Dad, I just got done with court,’ and my dad’s like, ‘What’d you do? Come on, you can tell me, but we’ve got to know what we’ve got to do’ … I’m like, ‘Well, I changed my name. Do you want to know?’ And at that point, just tears streaming.”
Jackson said that he considers James his true father and was more than happy to change his full name to Jackson James Powers-Johnson.
Getting To Know Powers-Johnson’s Mother
While James may have been surprised by the news of the name change, Jennifer was not.
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“They’re best friends, and so it was a big deal for both of them, and I’ve never been happier in my life,” Jennifer said.
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Jennifer had two children before James came into the picture, but from there, the family has connected well together while supporting Jackson through his new NFL career.
Does Powers-Johnson Have Any Siblings?
Powers-Johnson has an older brother, Keaton, who has not changed his last name to this point. Below is a photo of the family from March 2024, courtesy of Jennifer on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Me with my Boys at The Walter Camp Foundation All American Dinner pic.twitter.com/Kx26MvEyBC
— TheJetSetJenn (@JPowersJ) March 16, 2024