In 2010, he was more concerned about getting picked in any given week.
However, his trade to Adelaide at the end of that season for picks No.33 and No.67 changed all that as two of his three seasons in SA have seen him talked up as an All Australian candidate.
Jacobs will line up for his 100th game on Saturday against West Coast, averaging 17 disposals and 32 hit-outs this season.
His mammoth numbers make a mockery of the Blues' decision four years ago to let him go ahead of three ruckmen that Jacobs has clearly surpassed.
The fact he has evolved into the best big man of the four is a point of pride for the 26-year-old, but he said he wouldn't have become the player he is without the Carlton experience.
"At that stage I was in and out of the side a lot and couldn't get any continuity going," Jacobs said.
"Going through those sort of hardships, if you want to call them that, really shaped me.
"It was really good for me as an 18-year-old to go to Melbourne and experience life away from family and friends. It made me grow up.
"The challenges of having a lot of ruckmen around my age, we were really competitive as a group and I think that's helped shaped the way I play my footy."
Jacobs and the Crows will take on the Eagles at Adelaide Oval desperately needing a win to maintain their flimsy position inside the top eight.
Inconsistent form this year has seen the side struggle to replicate such efforts as the one taken to defeat Collingwood at the MCG last Sunday.
The win allowed the Crows to leapfrog the Magpies in to eighth spot on percentage and Jacobs said the side's steadily improving form meant it was over its 'yo-yo' form from earlier in the year.
"We were really up and down there at times, probably eight to 10 weeks ago we were beating teams around us and teams in the top eight, and then we'd drop a game against Carlton or Melbourne," he said.
"Our training standards are really good now…I think we've eliminated that [patchiness] out of our game."
Meanwhile, key defender Kyle Hartigan left hospital on Monday and will see a specialist this week after suffering internal bleeding and a fractured rib in the club's SANFL clash with Port Adelaide last Saturday.
