DeSean Jackson: Difference between revisions
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'''DeSean Jackson''' (born December 1, 1986 in {{city-state|Long Beach|California}}) is an [[American football]] [[ |
'''DeSean Jackson''' (born December 1, 1986 in {{city-state|Long Beach|California}}) is an [[American football]] [[stone-handed dipshit]] for the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] of the [[National Football League]]. He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the [[2008 NFL Draft]]. He played [[college football]] at the [[California Golden Bears football|University of California, Berkeley]]. |
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==Early years== |
==Early years== |
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Revision as of 00:32, 22 December 2008
 Jackson in 2006 | |||||||||||
| Philadelphia Eagles | |||||||||||
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| Career information | |||||||||||
| College: | California | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2008 / round: 2 / pick: 49 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 13, 2008 | |||||||||||
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DeSean Jackson (born December 1, 1986 in Template:City-state) is an American football stone-handed dipshit for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of California, Berkeley.
Early years
Jackson attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School, the same high school as Eagles teammate Winston Justice and many other current NFL players. He became one of the top wide receiver recruits in the nation, with many collegiate football programs pursuing his services. He was named the 2004 Glenn Davis Award winner by the Los Angeles Times as Southern California's player of the year. He also played baseball and was scouted by both the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies in his senior year.[1]
Jackson caught 60 passes for 1,075 yards for 15 touchdowns his senior year, leading the Jack Rabbits to a CIF Southern Section championship. He was pressed into service last minute as a defensive back in the section title game, against Los Alamitos High School, responding with two interceptions, one which he returned 68 yards for a touchdown to help fuel Long Beach Poly's 21-6 victory.
To cap off his high school career, Jackson was voted the Most Valuable Player at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in Template:City-state, where he caught seven passes for 141 yards and passed for a 45-yard touchdown in leading the West to a 35-3 victory in a game that featured 80 of the nation's top players. However, he was also involved in an embarrassing play when he attempted to somersault from the 5-yard line for a touchdown, but landed on the one-yard line, leaving the ball there. ESPN.com's Tom Lemming rated him as the number four wide receiver in the country, PrepStar selected him an All-American and a member of its Dream Team Top 100 players, and Calhisports.com voted him the 2004 Mr. Football State Player of the Year. He committed to Jeff Tedford's football program at the University of California, making his announcement on Southern California's FSN West. Jackson waited until the deadline to choose between scholarship offers for California and the University of Southern California.[2]
College career
At his first collegiate game against Sacramento State in 2005, Jackson scored both an offensive and special teams touchdown, returning a punt 49 yards for a score. Throughout his freshman season, Jackson spearheaded the Bears passing attack, picking up 38 receptions for 601 yards along with seven touchdowns. He eclipsed the 100-yard mark three times. In the Las Vegas Bowl game against Brigham Young University, Jackson tallied 130 yards and two scores.
Coming into his sophomore year with high expectations, Jackson displayed more of his talent and playmaking ability, tallying 1,060 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He was also a constant threat to return any opponent punt into a highlight reel touchdown, taking four returns for a score. He was voted All Pac-10 first team as both a punt returner and a wide receiver. Jackson also garnered national recognition with selections to first team All-America by the Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, the Football Writers Association of America, the Sporting News and Rivals.com as a punt returner. Jackson also captured the inaugural Randy Moss Award as the top return man in the nation. In one of only two California losses in Pac-10 play, Jackson had a 95 yard punt return for a touchdown against Arizona.[2]
Following an excellent sophomore campaign, Jackson entered his junior season with extremely high expectations, and was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate. His season began promisingly, with a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown against Tennessee in the opening game of the season.[2] However, despite the pre-season hype, Jackson failed to improve upon his previous year's statistics. He finished the 2007 season with 65 catches for 762 yards, and scoring 6 touchdowns as a receiver.
Although his receiving stats failed to live up to pre-season expectations, Jackson still played a large role in Cal's pass offense. His presence on the field often drew special attention from opposing defenses, creating opportunities for fellow Cal wideouts Lavelle Hawkins, who enjoyed his best season, and Robert Jordan. Despite his disappointing season as a receiver, Jackson was still named an All-American as a return specialist.[2]
Jackson's disappointing 2007 statistics can perhaps be partly attributed to injury. Jackson suffered several minor injuries that limited his effectiveness at times during the season, along with a right thigh injury that forced him to miss most of the game against Washington and the Big Game against Stanford.[3][4] He also missed the first quarter of the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl for violating undisclosed team rules.[5]
Jackson left Cal following the 2007 season, declaring for the 2008 NFL Draft. He departed holding Pac-10 records for punts returned for a touchdown both in a season (four), and in a career (six)[2]. Jackson ranks third all-time at California for receiving yards with 2,423 and receiving touchdowns with 22.[2] He is sixth in receptions (162).[2] Jackson finished with 52 career plays of 20 yards or more, making up 23 percent of his 226 touches.[2]
Professional career
2008 NFL Draft
Going to the 2008 NFL Draft, Jackson ran a 4.29 40 yard dash and was considered one of the top 10 wide receivers available in a draft class littered with talented wide outs. The only knock on Jackson was his small frame, being listed at 5'9" and just over 170 pounds. During the pre-draft period, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice was quoted saying that Jackson "is the fastest receiver I have ever seen". [6] At the 2008 NFL Combine, Jackson had an impressive showing, running a 4.35 40-yard dash. He performed well in positional drills, running routes fluidly and catching passes very well displaying his well-known agility and quickness. He also posted a standing broad jump of 10 feet.
On April 26, Jackson was drafted in the 2nd round (49th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the seventh wide receiver taken in the draft which saw for the first time ever no wide receivers drafted in the 1st round. On July 20, he agreed to terms on a four-year contract with the team. He competed for number 3 receiver duties with Jason Avant, Hank Baskett, and Greg Lewis.[7]
Philadelphia Eagles
2008 season
Jackson had a good pre-season performance, which included a 76 yard touchdown punt return against the New England Patriots in Week 3. After the Eagles roster was cut to its maximum 53 man limit for the season, he was listed as the starting punt returner and as a second-string wide receiver.
Due to injuries sustained by other receivers such as Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown, Jackson was the first rookie to start Opening Day for coach Andy Reid. On September 7, Jackson had an exceptional game, collecting six catches for 106 yards in a 38-3 win over the Saint Louis Rams. He also returned eight punts for a total of 97 yards, including one 60-yard punt return to set up a field goal. He had over 200 all purpose yards, a record for a rookie wide receiver. During a Monday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys on September 15, Jackson celebrated prematurely before running into the end zone by flipping the football behind him at the one yard line. This led to what would have otherwise been his first NFL touchdown to be challenged and overturned, with Brian Westbrook running in for a touchdown from the one yard line on the next play. Jackson finished the game with 110 yards on six receptions, becoming only the second receiver in NFL history to have over 100 yards receiving in each of his first two games since the Eagles' Don Looney in 1940.[8]
On September 28, Jackson recorded his first offensive touchdown against the Chicago Bears. Against the Bears he also muffed a punt return that set up the Bears' go ahead score. The following week against the Washington Redskins on October 5, Jackson returned his first punt return for a 68 yard touchdown. Jackson scored his first rushing touchdown on November 9 on a direct snap in the wildcat formation with a 9 yard run against the New York Giants.[9] A rematch against the Giants on December 7 which resulted in a 20-14 upset of the defending Super Bowl champions marked the first time in the season that Jackson did not have a reception. The following week, Jackson rebounded, recording 77 yards on 5 catches in a 30-10 victory over the struggling Cleveland Browns[10]
Personal
Jackson is the son of Bill and Gayle Jackson and has four older brothers. His oldest brother Byron is a former San Jose State receiver who spent two seasons on the Kansas City Chiefs developmental squad. Jackson intended to pursue a degree in social welfare at Cal.[11]
Trivia
Jackson was featured on the cover of the PlayStation 2 version of NCAA Football 09.[12]
NFL Network analyst Jamie Dukes gave Jackson the nickname "Fraction Jackson" due to his small frame and big play ability.
References
- ^ "Eagles' Jackson had tools for baseball". Philly.com. Retrieved 2000-10-28.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h Jackson Leaving Cal For NFL
- ^ Stanford believed it had Cal's number
- ^ Cal's Jackson uncertain for action Saturday
- ^ 2007 Armed Forces Bowl
- ^ [1]
- ^ Rookies Don't Play? Think Again
- ^ "Eagles WR Jackson celebrates prematurely". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Manning leads Giants over Eagles". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ "Paul Domowitch: Eagles throw Giants a curve with ground game". Philly.com. Retrieved 2008-12-8.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Player Profile
- ^ "DeSean Jackson inadvertently revealed as PS2 NCAA Football 09 cover athlete". PastaPadre.com. 2008-04-28. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
External links
