Darrell Lamont Jackson (born December 6, 1978) is an American former college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for nine seasons during the 2000s. Jackson played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and thereafter, he played professionally for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Jackson was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

in 1978,Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Darrell Jackson
Retrieved July 1, 2010. one of eight brothers and sisters in his family.GatorZone.com, Football History, 1999 Roster

. Retrieved March 24, 2011. He attended

Tampa Catholic High School Tampa Catholic High School is a diocesan, Catholic, coeducational high school located in Tampa, Florida, United States, founded in 1962. It is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg. Its motto is "Veritas et Caritas," which means "Trut ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

,databaseFootball.com, Players
Darrell Jackson
Retrieved July 1, 2010. where he was a standout wide receiver for the Tampa Catholic Crusaders high school football team.Joey Knight,

," ''The Tampa Tribune'' (October 5, 1999). Retrieved April 17, 2012. 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. FHSAA announces 33-member All-Century football team
" Florida High School Association (December 12, 2007). Retrieved May 26, 2011. He had eighty-nine

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...

s for 2,087 yards and twenty-eight

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron 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. In Ameri ...

s as a junior, and sixty-seven receptions as a senior. Basketball, not football, however, was Jackson's first love. As the sophomore point guard of a basketball team that included only eight players, he led the Crusaders to the 3A crown and was named state tournament most valuable player. As a senior, he led his team to the state tournament one more time in 1997, where it lost in the championship game. ''The Tampa Tribune'' recognized Jackson as one of the 100 greatest Tampa Bay area athletes of the last century in 1999. In 2007, eleven years after he graduated from Tampa Catholic, the

Florida High School Athletic Association The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high schools in Florida. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Florida uses ...

(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 scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a wide receiver for coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

team from

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 96, 124, 127, 143–145, 148, 150, 154, 182 (2011). Retrieved August 29, 2011. 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 The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

. Following his junior year, he was a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) selection and a third-team All-American. Jackson decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility, and entered the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

after his junior season; he finished his college career with a total of 1,501 receiving yards.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks selected Jackson in the third round (eightieth pick overall) in the

2000 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, at the Thea ...

, and he played for the Seahawks for seven seasons from to .National Football League, Historical Players
Darrell Jackson
Retrieved May 31, 2010. During the season, Jackson set a Seahawks franchise record with eighty-seven receptions (broken by

Bobby Engram Simon J. "Bobby" Engram III (born January 7, 1973) is a retired American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State. Engram also played for the ...

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 The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

; in this appearance, he helped carry the Seahawks to victory with a touchdown reception. In

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

Jackson tied the record for most receptions made in the first quarter of a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

with five, tying former

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

wide receiver

Andre Reed Andre Darnell Reed (born January 29, 1964) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Kutztown and was selected b ...

. Despite his brilliant performance, Seattle lost to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

21–10. He was denied a touchdown catch in the first quarter, due to a controversial offensive

pass interference In American and Canadian gridiron football, pass interference (PI) is a foul 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, ...

penalty called by back judge Bob Waggoner. In Seahawks franchise history he is fifth in receiving yards, fourth in receiving touchdowns and sixth in receptions.

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 Draft. On March 14, 2008, after a disappointing 2007 season, the

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.Mike Klis,
It's official: Broncos sign WR Jackson
" ''Denver Post'' (April 16, 2008). Retrieved July 1, 2010. He filled in when called upon and started for the suspended

Brandon Marshall Brandon Tyrone Marshall (born March 23, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCF Knights, and was drafted by ...

in week 1, and the injured

Eddie Royal William Edward "Eddie" Royal (born May 21, 1986) is an American former football wide receiver and return specialist . He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia Tech ...

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.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Darrell 1978 births Living people American football wide receivers Denver Broncos players Florida Gators football players Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Tampa, Florida