Jervonte Jackson (born September 6, 1986) 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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

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 2009. He 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 ...

Florida Atlantic Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-cam ...

. Jackson was also a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars,

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

Billings Outlaws The Billings Outlaws were a professional league indoor football team based in Billings, Montana. They were a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL), of which they were the 2-time defending champions. They played their home games at Rimrock A ...

, Omaha Beef,

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

, and

Nebraska Danger The Nebraska Danger was a professional indoor football team based in Grand Island, Nebraska, and a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team was founded in 2011 by Charlie Bosselman as an expansion member of the IFL. The Danger played ...

Early years

Jackson attended

North Miami Beach High School North Miami Beach Senior High School (NMB High School) is a secondary school located at 1247 NE 167 Street in North Miami Beach, Florida, United States. Its current principal is Randy Milliken. NMB High School was built in 1971 as an overcrowding ...

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 ...

where he played football under Coach Bertani. Jackson

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in track and field, basketball and football. In football, he played on the offensive line and

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. As a senior, he had 11.5 sacks and 45 tackles along with 43 pancakes on the offensive line. He earned second-team All-Dade honors as a senior.

College career

After high school, Jackson played college football at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

from 2004–2008. As a freshman in 2004, he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in order to gain experience and size. In 2005, he played in every game for the Owls, and made 38 tackles along with one forced fumble, three hurries and a blocked pass and kick. In 2006, Jackson played and started in every game. He led all defensive linemen with 46 total tackles and had three sacks, two forced fumbles and three broken-up passes. In 2007, he had 28 total tackles and two sacks. As a senior in 2008, he had 41 tackles and 1.5 sacks and was named a first-team All-Sun Belt selection.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Jackson was not invited to the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

and was only able to work out at

's Pro Day.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jackson was

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

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

and was signed by the

on May 18, 2009. He was waived on August 4.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jackson signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 26, 2009 when the team waived

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Jeremy Mincey Jeremy Lamar Mincey (born December 14, 1983) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, and Dallas Cowboys. He was selected by the New Eng ...

. He was waived on the first day of roster cuts on September 1.

Detroit Lions

Jackson was signed to the

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, ...

on October 12, 2009. He was released on October 20.

Omaha Beef

Jackson was signed by the Omaha Beef of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

on December 1, 2010.

Montreal Alouettes

He was signed by the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He was released by the Alouettes on July 21, 2011.

Nebraska Danger

He was signed by the

of the

and has played for the team since 2012.

Personal life

Jackson has four sisters and seven brothers, one of which is

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

Jamaal Jackson Jamaal J. Jackson (born May 8, 1980) is a former American football center. He played for nine seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Delaware State, he was signed by the Eagles ...

, who is his half-brother. At

, he majored in health administration.

References

External links

* * * *
Omaha Beef bioJacksonville Jaguars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Jervonte 1986 births Living people North Miami Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Miami American football defensive tackles Florida Atlantic Owls football players Philadelphia Eagles players Jacksonville Jaguars players Detroit Lions players Billings Outlaws players Omaha Beef players Nebraska Danger players Players of Canadian football from Miami