Jamaal J. Jackson (born May 8, 1980) is a former

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 with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He played for nine seasons for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

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). After playing

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

Delaware State Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four col ...

, he was signed by the Eagles as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2003. He was the Eagles' starting center from 2005 to 2010.

College career

After graduating from

Miami High School Miami Senior High School, also known as Miami High School, is a public high school located at 2450 SW 1st Street in Miami, Florida, and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Founded in 1903, it is one of the oldest high school in Miami ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in 1998, Jackson played

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

After going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

, Jackson was signed by the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He spent the

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

on the team's

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

and the 2004 season on the team's

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

after suffering a torn triceps. In the 2005 season he earned the starting job at

after

Hank Fraley Henry Franklin Fraley Jr. (born September 21, 1977) is an American football coach and former center who is the offensive line coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant offensive line ...

went down with an injury. He started all eight remaining games that season. He signed a seven-year extension with the Eagles on July 20, 2006. Jackson and Fraley appeared on the cover of the August 14, 2006 issue of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'', as they were in a battle for the starting center job—a rare feat for an offensive lineman. Jackson eventually beat out Fraley for the job when Fraley was traded to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

. Jackson started in every game for the Eagles from

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

–

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

after winning the starting job from Fraley. After starting in the first 15 games in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, Jackson suffered a knee injury during a week 16 game against 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 ...

, which prevented him from playing in most of the game.

Nick Cole Nicholas Darnell Cole (born July 28, 1984) is a former American football guard and center. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at New Mexico State. College career Cole played c ...

replaced him at center. The knee injury turned out to be a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

(ACL), which kept Jackson from playing the rest of the year. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on December 29. Jackson was placed on the Active/

Physically Unable to Perform Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

list at the beginning of training camp on July 26, 2010. He was activated on August 15. Jackson was injured in the Eagles' season opener on September 12, 2010 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and left the game. It was later revealed that he suffered a torn triceps, and would be out the remainder of the 2010 season. He was placed on injured reserve on September 13. Jackson competed with rookie

Jason Kelce Jason Daniel Kelce (; born November 5, 1987) is an American football center for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at ...

during training camp in 2011 for the starting center job, but lost out as the Eagles changed offensive line schemes. He appeared in all 16 games in 2011 as a backup. Jackson was released following the 2011 season on March 14, 2012. Jackson attended rookie mini-camp with the

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

in May 2012, but left the team after one day.

Personal life

Jackson is married to Daira who is the owner of 7Zen HairArtistry in South Jersey where they reside. His daughters are Donaira, Ava, Amya, Jayaana and Daelania. His sons are Harry & Rah. His dog’s name is Lucas.

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Jamaal 1980 births Living people Miami Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Miami American football centers American football offensive guards Delaware State Hornets football players Philadelphia Eagles players