SEATTLE — When Elijah Jackson swatted a potential game-winning touchdown pass out of the hands of Texas receiver Adonai Mitchell with no time left on the clock in Monday's Sugar Bowl, the Washington junior cornerback made a play that will be talked about fondly by Seattle sports fans for decades to come.

Everything was on the line in that moment. When they heard the agonizing news that the referees were putting a second back on the clock after the defense stopped the Longhorns on third-and-11 at UW's 12-yard line, the Husky defense had to hold for one last play to secure their spot in the national championship game against Michigan.

With Washington fans watching in agonized anticipation, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers lofted an almost perfectly-placed pass toward Mitchell in the end zone. But Jackson leapt and knocked the ball out of bounds to seal a 37-31 win, and set off a wild celebration all across Husky nation.

The play was eerily reminiscent of "The Tip," aka "The Immaculate Deflection," when Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman knocked away a pass intended for San Francisco receiver Michael Crabtree in the final moments of the 2013 NFC Championship Game to send the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.

The two plays were similar in structure, each sent their teams to the title game, and were both performed by players wearing No. 25. In many ways, the resemblance was downright spooky.

The biggest difference between them was that Sherman's tip deflected the ball into the hands of linebacker Malcolm Smith, while Jackson knocked the Ewers pass out bounds. Sherman also followed the play by trash-talking Crabtree on national television, while Jackson did nothing of the sort when the Huskies began their postgame celebration.

As UW fans celebrated the play everywhere from the Superdome to Ravenna, Jerome Jackson breathed a sigh of relief from his fifth-row seats at the 40-yard line. When he, wife Cinniamon and daughter Heaven saw Ewers' pass headed to Elijah, Jerome was confident his son would come through.

"Go get it," Jerome said of his reaction. "Go get it, son. Make a play. ... They've been ready for big moments like this, you know. Ever since last year, they've been on a mission. So you know, it's been a lot of ups and downs for him, but he's always stayed steady and always been humble."

The game was a bit of a roller coaster for the younger Jackson leading up to the climactic play. He gave up a touchdown pass to Mitchell earlier in the game and allowed a nearly 40-yard pass to receiver Xavier Worthy.

All game long and throughout the season, opposing quarterbacks threw at Jackson rather than fellow All Pac-12 second teamer Jabbar Muhammad or one-time Pac-12 Player of the Week Mishael Powell.

But rather than take it as an insult to his abilities, Jerome said, his son saw it as a chance to prove himself, and that's what he did when Ewers came his way.

Elijah also saw the climactic play as confirmation of hard work, not only his own, but also that of his family to help get him to this point.

"I feel like just me making that play helped to show them like, you know, all the sacrifices, they didn't waste sacrificing their time and their effort," he said. "... So I feel like me showing up showed kind of like a gratitude. That play was kind of for them, too. It showed, like, all your hard work that you helped put into me didn't go to waste."

Much like Sherman, Elijah Jackson spent the early part of his football career as a wide receiver before making the switch to cornerback. Jackson didn't even start playing football until his freshman year of high school, choosing to focus his early athletic energy on taekwondo, and made the switch to defensive back as a junior.

He might've gotten a late start, but Jackson quickly proved his talent and has become a player who got the chance to step up in the season's biggest moment.

"Pressure is a privilege," Jackson said. "That's what I like to say, so every one of my teammates — Jabbar [Muhammad] behind me, Thaddeus Dixon — they wish they were in my position. You know what I mean? Because everybody feeds off [it]. Everybody wants to be in that pressure moment. So I got the opportunity. I got the privilege to be there."

After he struggled on those two plays earlier in the game, Jackson's teammates were thrilled to see him finally get his chance to shine.

"He's a big part of our defense and a big part of our team and to see him capitalize on an opportunity like that is huge," Huskies edge rusher Bralen Trice said. "Especially for me, being a vet and seeing younger guys I've been looking at and watching and playing next to ever since they came in and seeing them get opportunities like that is huge. I mean, it makes me happy. It makes our whole defense happy."

Perseverance has been a constant for Jackson throughout his college career. From head coaching changes to lack of playing time in his first two seasons and having to go through the COVID-shortened 2020 season as a freshman, things haven't been easy.

But through it all, Jackson has pushed through. He isn't one to complain about playing time or threaten to hit the transfer portal, his father said. He's continued to pay his dues and work hard, winning the starting cornerback job in fall camp. And when his big moment finally came? He was ready.

"You see a guy who has come so far, even just this year with the confidence he continues to build. Playing corner is so hard," coach Kalen DeBoer said. "Guys are going to make plays. You get to this level and this type of game and there's going to be a play that's going to be made; and being able to just erase it from your mind and go make the next one, he's just really become someone that we can count on."

Jackson put himself firmly into the Husky history books with his iconic moment Monday night, stopping the Longhorns' late rally and ending one of the wildest, most stressful games in program history.

Years from now at tailgates and over drinks at local Husky bars, fans will reminisce about the crucial moment that Elijah Jackson came through when the Huskies needed it most.

To Jerome, watching his son be responsible for a legendary Husky play is something he'll never forget.

"It was a beautiful thing, you know, and emotional," Jerome said. "But I knew all the time that he could do it, and what he was capable of. He was just waiting for the opportunity to show it. I knew they were coming at him, and Elijah knew they were coming. So he was ready."

While Jackson has already made Husky history with the play of his life, the job isn't done yet.

"I think it's real cool, but I feel like the history aspect is, we're not done yet," Elijah said. "You know what I mean? The story is still being written. So I feel like our history is just beginning. We have one more game and then when all the dust settles, then we can talk about history. But right now, we're chasing something great."