As the owner of a landscaping company in north Houston, Robert Jackson says he finds a great deal of satisfaction in his work. Not just in the completion of a job, but also in occasionally stopping by to see how his old projects have grown, developed and flourished over the years.

Most of the time, his projects involve shrubs and trees. But more than two decades ago, Jackson also helped plant the seeds of a dominant defensive tradition at Texas A&M.

Jackson, along with fellow linebackers Ed Simonini and Garth Ten Naple, helped the Aggies lead the nation in total defense in 1975. All three were selected to All-American teams during their careers at A&M, and when tracing the origins of the great linebacker tradition at A&M, most Aggies point to that stellar mid-1970s unit as the start of it all.

And rest assured, Jackson takes a great deal of pride in occasionally stopping by Kyle Field to see how the project he help start is flourishing today.

"I usually try to make it to at least one game at Kyle Field every year, and I always try to catch as many A&M games on TV as I can," said Jackson, who lives near The Woodlands. "I really have always enjoyed watching the way the A&M linebackers play. There have been so many great linebackers come through A&M, and it's honor to have been a part of that great tradition.

"You look out there today and see guys like Dat Nguyen and Warrick Holdman flying around the field and making plays all over the place, and it brings back a lot of great memories of my time at A&M. The Aggies still play great defense, and they still have outstanding linebackers."

Indeed they do. But as far as the overall strength of the unit is concerned, perhaps the Aggies have never had a more talented and productive group of linebackers than the 1975 starters.

With Jackson, Simonini and Ten Naple leading the way, the '75 Aggies allowed opponents just 9.5 points, 80.3 rushing yards and only 183.8 yards of total offense per game. And on the strength of their defense, the Aggies climbed to as high as No. 2 nationally in the polls.

"To be honest with you Ñ and I'm not trying to brag or anything Ñ I think we had one of the best groups of linebackers I've ever seen," Jackson said. "We also had some big, solid defensive linemen and a very good secondary. But our linebackers, well, I'd compare our 1975 group to the great Pittsburgh Steelers defenses that had guys like Jack Lambert and Jack Ham. We totally stuffed a lot of our opponents."

One of the most memorable "stuffing" jobs came on the day after Thanksgiving in 1975. On that glorious late-November afternoon, the second-ranked Aggies ended seven years of futility against arch-rival Texas, whipping the fifth-ranked Longhorns, 20-10. During that game, Jackson keyed on future Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, following the burly, powerful back wherever he went.

Jackson did such an outstanding job slowing down Campbell that legendary Texas coach Darrell Royal singled out Jackson as "the real star of that game."

"That was a great day for us," Jackson said of the win over the Longhorns. "We had a great game plan, and we executed it perfectly. It all came together for us on that day."

Eight days later, it all fell apart for the Aggies. A&M was ambushed by Arkansas, 31-6, in a game that cost the Aggies a Cotton Bowl berth, an outright Southwest Conference title and a shot at the national championship.

That memory still bothers Jackson. But he stops short of calling it haunting.

"It would really tear me up if we hadn't given it our best shot," Jackson said. "But the bottom line is that Arkansas was the better team that day. We were probably better than them talent-wise, but on that day, they had everything going for them. We gave it our best shot, but it wasn't enough, and I can live with that.

"That's kind of the attitude I take today in my business today. If I don't get a bid, I'm not going to dwell on it and let it eat at me. I just give it my best shot and move on."

Following the 1975 season, Jackson moved on to individual stardom. While Simonini and Ten Naple were the anchors of the '75 team, Jackson and free safety Lester Hayes were the stars of the '76 defense.

Jackson led the Aggies with 143 tackles in his senior season, earning All-American honors and finishing as a finalist for the Lombardi Award. Jackson also led the Aggies to a 10-2 season in 1976, including a 37-14 victory over Florida in the Sun Bowl Ñ a game in which the A&M defense forced five turnovers and held the Gators to minus-12 yards of total offense in the decisive second quarter.

Following that spectacular season, Jackson was a first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns, where he spent five successful, but injury-marred years. Jackson also had short stints with the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, but eventually saw his NFL career end, in large part, because of knee injuries and an NFL strike.

"I had a great time in the NFL, and I played on some great teams with the Browns," Jackson said. "We had guys like Brian Sipe, Greg Pruitt, Mike Pruitt, Lyle Alzado, Calvin Hill, Ozzie Newsome and a bunch of other great players.

"It was a lot of fun, but it also was a business. My stock went down after my knee problems, and I was out of the game. Overall, it was a great experience to have the chance to play in the NFL, but it wasn't nearly as much fun as the memories I have of Texas A&M. That was the most fun I had in football."

Jackson played only two seasons at A&M, arriving in College Station prior to the 1975 season from Henderson County Junior College (now Trinity Valley). Prior to signing with the Aggies, Jackson had been heavily recruited by numerous schools throughout Texas and Oklahoma, but he eventually decided on A&M because he liked the people on campus and the direction Emory Bellard was taking the program.

Once he arrived at A&M, it didn't take long for Jackson to fall in love with the traditions of the school and the people of Aggieland.

"The people at A&M, they made all the difference," Jackson said. "I remember walking across campus from one class to another and literally talking to 30 or 40 people between each class. It was 'Howdy' here and there and everywhere you turned.

"There weren't many black students when I was there, but it didn't matter. Everyone was treated equally, no matter where you were from or what color of skin you had. It's not like that in the real world, but the world would be much better off if it was like that."

During the two decades since he last played at A&M, Jackson has made plenty of return trips to College Station. He has been inducted into the A&M athletic Hall of Fame, has stood on the sidelines for many A&M home games and has even spoken to the team on several different occasions.

With almost every trip, Jackson says he notices changes and improvements to the physical appearance to the campus. But what pleases him the most is how some things never change.

"The people are still friendly, and the defense is still great," Jackson said. "I love those things about Texas A&M."