Darrell Jackson
Encyclopedia
Darrell Lamont Jackson (born December 6, 1978) is a former American college and professional football
player who was a wide receiver
in the National Football League
(NFL) for nine seasons. Jackson played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Seattle Seahawks
, the San Francisco 49ers
and the Denver Broncos
of the NFL.
in 1978, one of eight brothers and sisters in his family. He attended Tampa Catholic High School
in Tampa, Florida
, where he was a standout wide receiver for the Tampa Catholic Crusaders high school football
team. As a senior
, Jackson set then-national high school records for career receiving yardage (4,594) and average yards per catch (24.05), and caught a total of 191 passes in three seasons for the Crusaders. He had eighty-nine reception
s for 2,087 yards and twenty-eight touchdown
s as a junior
, and sixty-seven receptions as a senior. In 2007, eleven years after he graduated from Tampa Catholic, the Florida High School Athletic Association
(FHSAA) recognized Jackson as one of the thirty-three all-time greatest Florida high school football players of the last 100 years by naming him to its "All-Century Team."
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he was a wide receiver for coach Steve Spurrier
's Florida Gators football
team from 1997 to 1999. He saw limited action as a freshman and sophomore, but he was the Gators' leading receiver in Spurrier's "fun 'n' gun" offense as a junior in 1999. During the 1999 season, he had sixty-seven receptions for a total of 1,156 yards (an average of 17.3 yards per catch) and nine touchdowns, and had a memorable three-touchdown outing against the Alabama Crimson Tide
. Following his junior year, he was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference
(SEC) selection and a third-team All-American.
Jackson decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility, and entered the NFL Draft
after his junior season; he finished his college career with a total of 1,501 receiving yards.
, and he played for the Seahawks for seven seasons from to . During the season, Jackson set a Seahawks franchise record with eighty-seven receptions (broken by Bobby Engram
in 2007). On December 18, 2005, he made his first appearance for the Seahawks after returning from an injury that he received playing the Washington Redskins
; in this appearance, he helped carry the Seahawks to victory with a touchdown reception.
In Super Bowl XL
Jackson tied the record for most receptions made in the first quarter of a Super Bowl
with five, tying former Buffalo Bills
wide receiver Andre Reed
. Despite his brilliant performance, Seattle lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers
21–10. He was denied a touchdown catch in the first quarter, due to a controversial offensive pass interference
penalty called by back judge Bob Waggoner.
. On March 14, 2008, after a disappointing 2007 season, the San Francisco 49ers
placed Jackson on waivers, making him a free agent.
in week 1, and the injured Eddie Royal
in week 6. Despite being third on the depth chart, he managed twelve receptions for 190 yards (a 16.5 yard average).
In his nine-season NFL career, Jackson played in 123 regular season games, started 107 of them, and had 499 receptions for 7,132 yards and fifty-one touchdowns.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for nine seasons. Jackson played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the NFL.
Early years
Jackson was born in Dayton, OhioDayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
in 1978, one of eight brothers and sisters in his family. He attended Tampa Catholic High School
Tampa Catholic High School
Tampa Catholic High School is a Diocesan, Catholic, coeducational high school located in Tampa, Florida, USA, founded in 1962. It is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg. Its motto is "Veritas and Caritas," which means: "Truth and Charity."...
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, where he was a standout wide receiver for the Tampa Catholic Crusaders high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
team. As a senior
Senior (education)
Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
, Jackson set then-national high school records for career receiving yardage (4,594) and average yards per catch (24.05), and caught a total of 191 passes in three seasons for the Crusaders. He had eighty-nine reception
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
s for 2,087 yards and twenty-eight touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s as a junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
, and sixty-seven receptions as a senior. In 2007, eleven years after he graduated from Tampa Catholic, the Florida High School Athletic Association
Florida High School Athletic Association
The Florida High School Athletic Association is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high school It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations ....
(FHSAA) recognized Jackson as one of the thirty-three all-time greatest Florida high school football players of the last 100 years by naming him to its "All-Century Team."
College career
Jackson accepted an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he was a wide receiver for coach Steve Spurrier
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 1997 to 1999. He saw limited action as a freshman and sophomore, but he was the Gators' leading receiver in Spurrier's "fun 'n' gun" offense as a junior in 1999. During the 1999 season, he had sixty-seven receptions for a total of 1,156 yards (an average of 17.3 yards per catch) and nine touchdowns, and had a memorable three-touchdown outing against the Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...
. Following his junior year, he was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) selection and a third-team All-American.
Jackson decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility, and entered the NFL Draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
after his junior season; he finished his college career with a total of 1,501 receiving yards.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks selected Jackson in the third round (eightieth pick overall) in the 2000 NFL Draft2000 NFL Draft
The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15–16, 2000...
, and he played for the Seahawks for seven seasons from to . During the season, Jackson set a Seahawks franchise record with eighty-seven receptions (broken by Bobby Engram
Bobby Engram
Simon J. "Bobby" Engram III is currently the offensive assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft...
in 2007). On December 18, 2005, he made his first appearance for the Seahawks after returning from an injury that he received playing the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
; in this appearance, he helped carry the Seahawks to victory with a touchdown reception.
In Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
Jackson tied the record for most receptions made in the first quarter of a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
with five, tying former Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
wide receiver Andre Reed
Andre Reed
Andre Darnell Reed is a former professional American football player. He played wide receiver in the National Football League for 16 seasons, 15 with the Buffalo Bills and one with the Washington Redskins .Reed ranks tenth in NFL history in total career receptions with 951.-Football career:Reed...
. Despite his brilliant performance, Seattle lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
21–10. He was denied a touchdown catch in the first quarter, due to a controversial offensive pass interference
Pass interference
In American and Canadian gridiron football, pass interference is a penalty that occurs when a player interferes with an eligible receiver's ability to make a fair attempt to catch a forward pass. Pass interference may include tripping, pushing, pulling, or cutting in front of the receiver or...
penalty called by back judge Bob Waggoner.
San Francisco 49ers
On April 29, 2007, Jackson was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2007 NFL Draft2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
. On March 14, 2008, after a disappointing 2007 season, the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
placed Jackson on waivers, making him a free agent.
Denver Broncos
On April 16, 2008, Jackson signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Denver Broncos. Jackson filled in when called upon and started for the suspended Brandon MarshallBrandon Marshall
-2006:Before the regular season even began, Marshall suffered a slight tear to his PCL in a pre-season game against the Detroit Lions. Although the injury sidelined him for a couple of weeks, he was able to return and play 15 games during the regular season. Marshall had a total of 20 catches, 309...
in week 1, and the injured Eddie Royal
Eddie Royal
William Edward "Eddie" Royal is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League...
in week 6. Despite being third on the depth chart, he managed twelve receptions for 190 yards (a 16.5 yard average).
In his nine-season NFL career, Jackson played in 123 regular season games, started 107 of them, and had 499 receptions for 7,132 yards and fifty-one touchdowns.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1990–1999
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of Seattle Seahawks players