Edwin Joseph Jackson (December 19, 1991 – February 4, 2018) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. He played college football at

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hi ...

. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals of 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) as an undrafted free agent in 2015, and then spent two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

High school career

Jackson attended Westlake High School in his hometown of

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, where he was a letterman in football and wrestling. In football, he played the position of

, kicker, and punter. Jackson was a 5A Georgia High School State Championship finalist in Wrestling at the 189 lb weight division. He won regional championships his junior and senior years.

College career

Making the

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

Football Team as a tryout walk-on, Jackson saw action in 13 games as a freshman, and had 10 tackles. He played in 12 games as a sophomore in 2012, collecting 16 tackles and six special teams tackles. Earning the starting middle linebacker spot his junior season, Jackson totaled a team-best 92 tackles, 2.0 sacks and a fumble recovery in 11 games. A highlight game that year featured Jackson posting 10 tackles, including a team-leading eight solo stops in 26–20 upset win against the University of Florida. Jackson was named the College Sports Madness Southern Conference Player of the Week for his performance against the Florida Gators. In Jackson's senior year, he was voted team captain by his teammates, and recorded a career-high 100 tackles, which ranked in the top- 10 of the Sun Belt Conference. He had four games with 13-plus tackles. Jackson also had a forced fumble and an interception, which helped seal a win at South Alabama. Jackson helped Georgia Southern win the Sun Belt Conference Championship in the school's inaugural year competing on the NCAA Football Championship Series (FCS) level in 2014. He was awarded First-team All-Sun Belt honors. Jackson was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, which nationally honors former walk-on players who have made significant contributions to their school's team. He was also nominated for the

Wuerffel Trophy The Wuerffel Trophy is an award given annually to the college football player "who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement." The trophy, designed by W. Stanley Proctor and named in honor of former Univers ...

, which acknowledges players who show exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. Also, Jackson was nominated for AllState Good Works Team for his volunteer work at a local Statesboro elementary school, and hosting a football clinic for children in Costa Rica during his Christmas break. Lastly, Jackson competed in the prestigious Medal of Honor Senior Bowl in Charleston, SC after completing his senior year.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Jackson was signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent on May 5, 2015. Prior to signing with the team at his initial meeting with Cardinals coaching staff, he brought

pound cake Pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold. They are sometimes served either dusted with powd ...

s homemade by his mother as an apology for missing his scheduled flight - this earned Jackson the nickname "Pound Cake" that stayed with him throughout his professional career. He was released on August 31, 2015 after competing in the 2015 Cardinals' preseason games.

Indianapolis Colts

On December 8, 2015, Jackson was signed to the Colts' practice squad. He was released on December 16, 2015 and re-signed on December 22. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts on January 5, 2016. In 2016, Jackson played in all 16 games with 8 starts, recording 66 tackles. On September 2, 2017, Jackson was placed on injured reserve.

Death

On February 4, 2018, Jackson was a passenger of

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), packa ...

driver Jeffrey Monroe, 54, when Jackson suddenly felt ill and asked if the two could pull over. Just before 4 a.m., the two men exited the vehicle along the westbound lanes of

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

in Indianapolis. While on the shoulder, Jackson and Monroe were struck by a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

F-150 The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford since the 1948 model year. Slotted above the Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range, the F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks. ...

pickup truck, which veered into the emergency lane. Both Jackson and Monroe died at the scene. The driver, Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, of Guatemala, was arrested after trying to flee the scene on foot, according to the

Indiana State Police The Indiana State Police is the statewide law enforcement agency for the U.S. state of Indiana. Indiana was the 12th state to offer protection to its citizens with a state police force. Its headquarters are in the Indiana Government Center Nor ...

. Orrego-Savala was in the country illegally, having already been

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

on two occasions, in 2007 and 2009. Authorities reported that Orrego-Savala was driving without a license and had a

blood alcohol concentration Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For exampl ...

of 0.239, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08 to drive in Indiana. Initially identifying himself to police as Alex Cabrera-Gonsales, he had previously been convicted of drunk driving in California in 2005. On February 7, 2018, Manuel Orrego-Savala was charged by the Marion County prosecutor with four

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

counts: two counts of causing death while operating a vehicle above the legal alcohol limit, and two counts of failing to remain at the scene of an accident. The previous day, he was charged in federal court with illegal re-entry of a previously deported person. On September 21, 2018, Manuel Orrego-Savala was sentenced to the maximum of 16 years in prison after pleading guilty on July 20, 2018 to two counts of operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 or more, causing death.

References

External links

Georgia Southern Eagles bio

Indianapolis Colts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Edwin 1991 births 2018 deaths 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American players of American football American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals players Georgia Southern Eagles football players Indianapolis Colts players Players of American football from Atlanta Road incident deaths in Indiana Pedestrian road incident deaths Truck road incident deaths Alcohol-related deaths in Indiana