Don Jackson admits that while he was looking to find a team to play for, he wasn’t sure what a prospective employer might think of him.

After spending the 2016 season with the Green Bay Packers, the 25-year-old running back knew what he could do on the football field, with the right opportunity. But he had another passion, in music. He was close to finishing off a hip hop album and wasn’t sure how a GM would feel about someone whose interests are spread out.

“I was worried about how management (with a new team) would take it,” Jackson said after Saturday’s walkthrough practice, ahead of their West Final win over Winnipeg.

“Management here has been supportive. If you do music, that’s your thing. Just make sure you come to work and do your job every day and we have no problem with you doing music.”

Jackson quickly found his way with the Stampeders out of the gate this season, stringing together a combined 396 yards and two touchdowns. His rookie year wasn’t without obstacles. He dipped off a little bit after that hot start and other than a strong 115-yard Labour Day showing against rival Edmonton, he was quiet through the back half of the season.

On Sunday, mired in a defensive slugfest with the Blue Bombers, Jackson gave his team the performance it needed. He rushed for 83 yards, out-performing the league’s leading rusher this season, in the Bombers’ Andrew Harris (71 yards).

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“I just try to be coachable, do everything they ask me to do as far as the run game, the pass game,” Jackson said. “I try to make sure I focus in on all of my keys and understand the intricacies of the offence and help try to take us to the next level.”

There’s a big personality in that five-foot-10, 202-pound frame. His quarterback, Bo Levi Mitchell, said he has no problem with that.

“I don’t have to try to rein him in,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes I just have to try to keep up with him.

“I wear my (heart) on my sleeve in a different way sometimes, but when Don came, watching this guy jump around…sometimes you tell a rookie that you’re better off to be seen than heard but I think everyone wanted to hear from Don.”

Coming into Calgary, Jackson was probably less worried about what his musical talent would do for him in the locker room.

“He came into our rookie show and rapped. We tried to get him to keep going because we loved it,” Mitchell said.

“Just to hear a young guy with such confidence and swagger to come in those first couple of games and be a leader and to tell the o-line how much he loved them on every play how great they were doing…that’s something we haven’t had a lot here in the past. I think the o-line respects him and loves blocking for him.”

With what head coach Dave Dickenson feared might be a season-ending Achilles injury to running back Romar Morris, Jackson’s already significant role could be bigger on Sunday, in the 106th Grey Cup presented by Shaw.

“With anything there’ll be ups and downs. It’ll never be smooth sailing, just like in the game,” Jackson said.

“I had some trials and challenges, I had some battles, but I’m for sure happy with the impact I made in the regular- season and I want to try to add more in the playoffs.”

His offseason will be a busy one. He and his girlfriend are expecting their first child, a boy, soon and the trio will be in Calgary to settle in for the winter so he can continue to train. It’s been a wild year for him, learning the running back position and special teams under new, challenging rules and trying to help the Stamps fill the void left by Roy Finch and Jerome Messam. A year of new experiences have inspired him creatively, he said, but he’s putting his studio work on hold for the time being.

Dickenson spoke on Saturday about players like Jackson and defensive tackle Micah Johnson needing to be themselves so that they could be their best on the field, too. Jackson was relieved he found a place that accepted him for who he is.

“(I’m) not trying to give off some bad message in my music,” he said. “A lot of the coaches have listened to it. Huff has listened to it too. They understand it’s coming from a good heart. It’s real hip hop.”