Martese Jackson (born May 20, 1992) is a professional gridiron football

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

for the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

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 played college football at

Florida Atlantic University 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-ca ...

College career

After transferring from

Fort Scott Community College Fort Scott Community College is a community college in Fort Scott, Kansas, United States. It has satellite buildings in other cities in Crawford County, including Pittsburg and Frontenac, along with sites in Paola and at the Hillsdale Learning ...

, Jackson played 3 seasons with the

Florida Atlantic Owls football The Florida Atlantic Owls football program represents Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in the sport of American football. The Owls compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Amer ...

team, where he amassed 240 rushing yards and 1 touchdown, while also 392 yards on 22 carries.

Professional career

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Jackson signed with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fie ...

on February 24, 2015, but was released before training camp on April 13, 2015.

Montreal Alouettes

Jackson then signed with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (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 East Division of the Canad ...

on June 10, 2015, and spent the season on the practice roster. He again spent the 2016 season on the practice roster before being released before the 2017 season on May 1, 2017.

Toronto Argonauts

On May 2, 2017, Jackson signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

as a free agent. He made the team out of training camp and played in his first game on June 30, 2017. He was named a CFL Top Performer for Week 4 after gaining 339 total return yards in a single game, the fourth-most in CFL history. Overall, he played in 15 regular season games and both playoff games, including the Argonauts'

105th Grey Cup The 105th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 2017, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. In a re-match of the 100th Grey Cup, the Argonauts won the game 27–24, winning their 17th cham ...

victory over the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

. In the 15 games he finished with 2,214 kick return yards, 1,133 yards on 52 kickoff returns, 824 yards and two touchdowns on 70 punt returns and 256 yards and one touchdown on four missed field goals.

Edmonton Eskimos

On September 10, 2018, the Argonauts traded Jackson to the Edmonton Eskimos along with a conditional 2020 sixth round draft pick in exchange for a 2019 third round draft pick. Jackson provided a spark on special teams, while also contributing as a change of pace back in six games with Edmonton; Jackson rushed three times for 25 yards, and his first career rushing touchdown, in addition to catching seven passes for 68 yards. Jackson became a free agent, but signed back with Edmonton on May 20, 2019. Jackson went down with injury after six games played, but put up a combined 46 punt and kick returns for 595 yards, improving on his averages with Edmonton from the previous season.

Montreal Alouettes (II)

On October 25, 2021, it was announced that Jackson had signed with the

Edmonton Elks

The Elks announced that they had traded for Jackson on January 14, 2022.

References

External links

Montreal Alouettes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Martese 1992 births Living people African-American players of Canadian football American football return specialists American football running backs Canadian football return specialists Canadian football running backs Montreal Alouettes players Sportspeople from Asheville, North Carolina Toronto Argonauts players Florida Atlantic Owls football players Players of American football from North Carolina Fort Scott Greyhounds football players Edmonton Elks players 21st-century African-American sportspeople