As I often say, perspective is everything in life.

Setting high expectations is what athletes do. It’s what all competitors do. Setting those high expectations publicly and failing to meet them, however, results in backlash. At the very least, it changes perspective.

That’s exactly how I’d describe what happened to Donte Jackson.

The former LSU star wasn’t shy about his desire to break John Ross’ 40-yard dash record of 4.22 seconds. He had a back-and-forth with Adidas about getting a shoe deal if and when he broke the record, which was followed up by more record-breaking talk once he got to the NFL Scouting Combine.

“That’s just the competitive nature in me. I’m going to get out of the bed, and I’m going to be ready to run and go beat it,” Jackson said during his Sunday press conference at the Combine. “I’m very confident. I don’t feel any pressure to run fast. I’ve been running fast my whole life.”

Of course Jackson was confident. This was a track star who ran a 10.22-second 100-yard dash, and LSU coaches reportedly clocked him at 4.24 seconds. Why not call your shot? There’s no pressure, right?

Well, it didn’t work out like Jackson hoped. Instead of breaking Ross’ record, he got off to a bad start and his hamstring cramped up at the end of his run. That resulted in a 4.32-second 40-yard dash, which was still extremely impressive, but well short of Ross’ record (via Brad Crawford).

Jackson came up short of what he said he was going to do. Some will say it was because of the cramp (Ross had a calf cramp, too), but the result was still the same. The headlines still will read “Jackson comes up short of Ross’ 40-yard dash record.”

Oh, by the way, Jackson tied for the fastest 40-yard dash in the Combine.

Call me a pessimist all you want, but I can’t help but think of Jackson as the guy who said he was going to break the record and then didn’t.

What I don’t get is why he set the bar so high for himself, at least publicly. What did Jackson have to gain by attracting that kind of hype? Everyone already had eyes on him as a possible first-round pick, and his speed wasn’t a secret.

Had he just avoided a guarantee and dropped a 4.32-second 40, the perception would be that Jackson somehow ran the fastest 40 time despite the fact that he strained his calf. It would be a celebrated accomplishment instead of a letdown. Again, perception is everything.

Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Had Jackson actually broken the record, he would’ve received all the attention and more that Ross did. After he went viral and became the talk of the combine, Ross’ draft stock vaulted from a fringe first-rounder all the way to the No. 9 overall pick. He didn’t call his shot.

Another guy who didn’t call his shot last year was Jalen Myrick. Why does that name sound familiar, you ask? If not for Ross, it would’ve been Myrick’s 4.28-second 40-yard dash that would’ve been the talk of the combine (it was a Big Ten record).

Last year, I talked to the former Minnesota defensive back about that blistering 40 time. He told me that the night before the Combine, he predicted to 10 friends and loved ones that he’d run somewhere in the 4.2-range. Myrick didn’t say it on social media or in a press conference. He just showed up and stunned everyone with his speed. That instantly got him significantly more meetings with NFL teams than he previously had, and as a result, Myrick got drafted.

Perception. It’s everything.

It’ll be interesting to see if Jackson’s pre-draft perception changes now. He’s still the same prospect that he was. He’s got blazing speed and while he’s small for a modern corner (he only benched 225 7 times), he could still be a first-round draft pick for some and not for others. Obviously he doesn’t lack confidence, nor should he.

But maybe this serves as his first NFL lesson. There’s nothing wrong with setting an absurdly high bar for yourself, though there’s a time and a place to do so publicly. If others want to put that kind of pressure on Jackson, that’s out of his control.

All he can control is what he says and what he does on the field. If the latter doesn’t back up the former, he went wrong somewhere. Whether Jackson admits it or not, it probably wasn’t the right move to guarantee he’d do something that nobody had ever done at the combine.

But yes, I fully expect someone to follow in Jackson’s footsteps next year.