California Golden Bears Athletics
Jackson and Jordyn Brousseau support each other through it all.
Married To The Game
10/16/2026 9:30 AM | Football, Inside The Lair, Inside Cal Football
Jackson And Jordyn Brousseau Lean On Each Other In Football And In Life
Making his first start for California, Jackson Brousseau completed 29 of 43 passes for 321 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions against visiting Virginia Tech last Saturday.
Brousseau led the Golden Bears on a six-play, 75-yard drive in the final 1:15 that culminated with Ashten Emory's 2-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left to give Cal a 25-20 victory.
One of the 40,170 fans at California Memorial Stadium had a particularly personal perspective on Brousseau's success: his wife, Jordyn.
During a joint interview with Jackson on Wednesday afternoon, Jordyn said, "I do get really excited" watching him play. "I know the amount of time he puts in and … just how he hard he works, so every time he's out there, I'm so proud of him."
Jordyn played soccer at Utah Tech for three seasons (including a redshirt season in 2022). She and Jackson are from Utah, and they began dating in her senior year at Maple Mountain High, which was his junior year at Lehi High.
They continued their relationship while she was at Utah Tech and when he went to Colorado State. Jordyn graduated early from Utah Tech and joined Jackson in Fort Collins. They got married in Utah in July 2025.
As to why they tied the knot at a relatively young age, Jordyn said, "Three years is a long time to do long distance with somebody, so I feel like we knew that we wanted to be married after that and we just wanted to be together."
Said Jackson: "Being apart, it confirmed what we really wanted. There was just no point to waiting."
Jordyn's experience as a college student-athlete gives her insight into Jackson's day-to-day life.
"I definitely understand all the ins and outs of it, the highs and lows, for sure," she said. "How quickly it can change."
Jackson appreciates how Jordyn helps him separate his football life from the rest of his life.
"She understands how important it is, that time away from the sport, and how crucial that is for you as an athlete," Jackson said. "You need time away. And so, I think she knows when it's time away from football, it's got to be no football. It's just us."
Jordyn can go from "no football" to "know football" pretty smoothly. Her father, Clay Denton, played at Southern Utah and has been a longtime high school coach, including at Lehi (he did not coach Jackson) and Maple Mountain. Jordyn's brother, Jaxson, played football at Maple Mountain and in college.
"I basically grew up on the football field," Jordyn said.
"She knows when I'm screwing up," Jackson cracked.
With their respective sports backgrounds, the natural question becomes: Who's the better athlete?
Jackson answered, "She is a lot more competitive than me. When we play little games like pickleball or basketball, she gets after me because she's more competitive."
Jordyn said, "I'm a little bit more expressive of my emotions than Jackson is."
Jackson has looked particularly cool and collected since he replaced Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele late in the first half of the Bears' 39-31 loss at UNLV on Oct. 3 after Sagapolutele had to leave the game because of a concussion.
In six-plus quarters, Brousseau has hit on 48 of 75 passes (64%) for 521 yards with three TDs and no picks. He said he has relied on his preparation to enable him to perform at a high level though he hadn't played much for the Bears until the UNLV game.
"I feel calm. I feel ready to go because I know (how) I've prepared," Brousseau said. "I know what's going to happen. I know what the play caller's thinking. I know what the defense is going to do."
Jackson's even-keeled approach resonates with Jordyn.
"He's just calm, patient," Jordyn said, adding that how "he is on the field is how he is at home."
As a redshirt sophomore with the Rams last season, Jackson completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,354 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions. He then entered the transfer portal and chose to come to Cal even though Sagapolutele was returning after his distinguished freshman season.
Brousseau mentioned two key reasons he landed in Berkeley; one was his connection with associate head coach Nick Rolovich. "Coach Rolovich was completely honest with me with everything that was happening," Brousseau said, "and that's rare."
The other reason was the opportunity to graduate from the nation's No. 1 public institution.
"I wanted to get a great degree," said Brousseau, who expects to graduate in the spring with a B.A. in American Studies. He had an internship in the commercial real-estate field last summer and might get another one next summer.
In the meantime, he and Sagapolutele (who on Thursday was listed as questionable for Saturday night's matchup against visiting Wake Forest) are trying to make each other better.
"I think we've both grown so much as players and as people," Brousseau said. "It's really special to be around a kid like that every single day. I've learned more about being a good person than I have (about being) a football player from him because he's so awesome to be around."
As much as Jackson likes being around Sagapolutele, he surely likes being around Jordyn even more. She has been doing digital marketing for a property-management company and plans to become a nail technician. She has her license, but is holding off committing to that on a full-time basis until Jackson's playing days are done.
Many married people will concede that though they love their spouses, each spouse might do a thing or two that gets on the other's nerves a bit. When Jordyn and Jackson were asked if either did anything to get on the other's nerves, there was a pause for about 30 seconds.
"Oh, I've got one. I figured it out," Jackson finally answered. "She's very, very protective of our dog, and I think he'll be OK. He's a dog."
That's a Bernese Mountain dog named Maui. Jordyn, Jackson and Maui live in an East Bay condo. Jackson described himself and Jordyn as "outdoorsy" types. They hope to take advantage of living in Northern California by visiting the redwoods, Alcatraz and Yosemite when they get a chance to do so.
Until then, Jackson will focus on his studies and his role as Cal's No. 1 or No. 2 QB, grateful that Jordyn is his No. 1 and that he is hers.
Brousseau led the Golden Bears on a six-play, 75-yard drive in the final 1:15 that culminated with Ashten Emory's 2-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left to give Cal a 25-20 victory.
One of the 40,170 fans at California Memorial Stadium had a particularly personal perspective on Brousseau's success: his wife, Jordyn.
During a joint interview with Jackson on Wednesday afternoon, Jordyn said, "I do get really excited" watching him play. "I know the amount of time he puts in and … just how he hard he works, so every time he's out there, I'm so proud of him."
Jordyn played soccer at Utah Tech for three seasons (including a redshirt season in 2022). She and Jackson are from Utah, and they began dating in her senior year at Maple Mountain High, which was his junior year at Lehi High.
They continued their relationship while she was at Utah Tech and when he went to Colorado State. Jordyn graduated early from Utah Tech and joined Jackson in Fort Collins. They got married in Utah in July 2025.
As to why they tied the knot at a relatively young age, Jordyn said, "Three years is a long time to do long distance with somebody, so I feel like we knew that we wanted to be married after that and we just wanted to be together."
Said Jackson: "Being apart, it confirmed what we really wanted. There was just no point to waiting."
Jordyn's experience as a college student-athlete gives her insight into Jackson's day-to-day life.
"I definitely understand all the ins and outs of it, the highs and lows, for sure," she said. "How quickly it can change."
Jackson appreciates how Jordyn helps him separate his football life from the rest of his life.
"She understands how important it is, that time away from the sport, and how crucial that is for you as an athlete," Jackson said. "You need time away. And so, I think she knows when it's time away from football, it's got to be no football. It's just us."
Jordyn can go from "no football" to "know football" pretty smoothly. Her father, Clay Denton, played at Southern Utah and has been a longtime high school coach, including at Lehi (he did not coach Jackson) and Maple Mountain. Jordyn's brother, Jaxson, played football at Maple Mountain and in college.
"I basically grew up on the football field," Jordyn said.
"She knows when I'm screwing up," Jackson cracked.
With their respective sports backgrounds, the natural question becomes: Who's the better athlete?
Jackson answered, "She is a lot more competitive than me. When we play little games like pickleball or basketball, she gets after me because she's more competitive."
Jordyn said, "I'm a little bit more expressive of my emotions than Jackson is."
Jackson has looked particularly cool and collected since he replaced Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele late in the first half of the Bears' 39-31 loss at UNLV on Oct. 3 after Sagapolutele had to leave the game because of a concussion.
In six-plus quarters, Brousseau has hit on 48 of 75 passes (64%) for 521 yards with three TDs and no picks. He said he has relied on his preparation to enable him to perform at a high level though he hadn't played much for the Bears until the UNLV game.
"I feel calm. I feel ready to go because I know (how) I've prepared," Brousseau said. "I know what's going to happen. I know what the play caller's thinking. I know what the defense is going to do."
Jackson's even-keeled approach resonates with Jordyn.
"He's just calm, patient," Jordyn said, adding that how "he is on the field is how he is at home."
As a redshirt sophomore with the Rams last season, Jackson completed 63.7% of his passes for 1,354 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions. He then entered the transfer portal and chose to come to Cal even though Sagapolutele was returning after his distinguished freshman season.
Brousseau mentioned two key reasons he landed in Berkeley; one was his connection with associate head coach Nick Rolovich. "Coach Rolovich was completely honest with me with everything that was happening," Brousseau said, "and that's rare."
The other reason was the opportunity to graduate from the nation's No. 1 public institution.
"I wanted to get a great degree," said Brousseau, who expects to graduate in the spring with a B.A. in American Studies. He had an internship in the commercial real-estate field last summer and might get another one next summer.
In the meantime, he and Sagapolutele (who on Thursday was listed as questionable for Saturday night's matchup against visiting Wake Forest) are trying to make each other better.
"I think we've both grown so much as players and as people," Brousseau said. "It's really special to be around a kid like that every single day. I've learned more about being a good person than I have (about being) a football player from him because he's so awesome to be around."
As much as Jackson likes being around Sagapolutele, he surely likes being around Jordyn even more. She has been doing digital marketing for a property-management company and plans to become a nail technician. She has her license, but is holding off committing to that on a full-time basis until Jackson's playing days are done.
Many married people will concede that though they love their spouses, each spouse might do a thing or two that gets on the other's nerves a bit. When Jordyn and Jackson were asked if either did anything to get on the other's nerves, there was a pause for about 30 seconds.
"Oh, I've got one. I figured it out," Jackson finally answered. "She's very, very protective of our dog, and I think he'll be OK. He's a dog."
That's a Bernese Mountain dog named Maui. Jordyn, Jackson and Maui live in an East Bay condo. Jackson described himself and Jordyn as "outdoorsy" types. They hope to take advantage of living in Northern California by visiting the redwoods, Alcatraz and Yosemite when they get a chance to do so.
Until then, Jackson will focus on his studies and his role as Cal's No. 1 or No. 2 QB, grateful that Jordyn is his No. 1 and that he is hers.
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, October 13
Saturday, October 10
Thursday, October 08
Saturday, October 03
