Patience is not among Donovan Jackson’s virtues.

“I’ve always been a stubborn kid,” Ohio State’s senior left guard said with a smile Wednesday. “You can ask my mom. Patience hasn’t always been my thing.”

The two-time first-team All-Big Ten lineman said he’d never missed a game, including youth league ball. When Jackson injured a hamstring in training camp, he had trouble accepting the the OSU medical staff’s timeline.

“That was a new thing for me, so I was freaking out a little bit,” Jackson said. “But our training staff just told me to trust the process.”

Like so many other seniors, Jackson postponed a chance at the NFL for a final college season. The Texan didn’t want to miss a minute of it. Instead, he was on the sidelines for Ohio State’s first two games.

Jackson made his season debut in Saturday’s 49-14 victory over Marshall.

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“It felt amazing,” Jackson said. “As a senior, I know I have only limited opportunities left to play in the Horseshoe. It weighed on me those first two games.”

Hamstring injuries can be tricky. A player can feel like it has healed, and then one movement can result in a major setback. Though their injuries were different, Jackson remembers how wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s final season was ruined by a hamstring injury two years ago.

When Jackson hurt his hamstring, he said he didn’t tell anyone. The next day, reality set in. Jackson thought he’d be back in two weeks. But two weeks later, he remained in pain.

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“I wasn’t the most happy camper in the world for a good minute there,” Jackson said.

He said he pretty much lived in the trainers’ room.

“It was just trusting the process, knowing that our training staff knows what they’re doing, and they were going to get me back on the field,” Jackson said.

Jackson hoped to be back for the opener against Akron and the next week against Western Michigan. Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Jackson tried to talk his way into playing each week.

On Saturday, Jackson finally returned. With Ohio State’s projected offensive line finally intact against Marshall, the unit looked more like an exclamation point than the question mark it has long been. The Buckeyes averaged 10 yards per play against Marshall.

Bigger tests await, though, so Jackson isn’t declaring Saturday’s performance a definitive statement.

“In terms of exclamation points, we don’t know about that,” he said. “We’re just trying not to get complacent. All five of us on the offensive line know what we need to do to improve.”

Austin Siereveld played well enough filling in for Jackson in the first two games to earn time at right guard, but Jackson is a potential All-American. Day said he graded as a champion.

“I think there was a confidence across the board having him in there,” Day said. “We’re talking about one of the better players in college football.

“I think up front the communication was much better. I thought there was some cohesiveness, guys finishing downfield. It was good to have him back in the mix.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Patience a virtue? OSU's Jackson learned it with hamstring injury