Paris Jackson (born July 24, 1980) is a former professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

slotback Slotback, sometimes referred to as an A-back or slot receiver, is a position in gridiron football. The "slot" is the area between the last offensive lineman on either side of the center and the wide receiver on that side. A player who lines up ...

who last played for the Edmonton Eskimos 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 originally drafted sixth overall by the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first seas ...

in the

2003 CFL Draft The 2003 CFL Draft took place on Wednesday, April 30, 2003. 53 players were chosen for Canadian Football League teams from among the eligible CIS football players from Canadian universities, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. Of the ...

and signed with the team on August 30, 2003. He played college football for the

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...

from 2001 to 2002.

High school years

Jackson was team captain at

Carson Graham Secondary School Carson Graham Secondary is a public high school in the city of North Vancouver, British Columbia and part of School District 44 North Vancouver. History The school opened September 15, 1965, and is named after Dr. Carson Graham. In 2009, Car ...

in North Vancouver. In his senior year, he set the school's single-game record for most rushing

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...

s and

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 Amer ...

s, and accumulated 2,138 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns.

College career

Jackson attended

Butte College Butte College is a public community college in the Butte-Glenn Community College District in Chico and Orland, California. History After the passage of the 1960 Donahoe Act, the voters of Butte County created a local community college ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in 2000, where he was an All-Conference player, recording 35 receptions for 899 yards and 8 touchdowns. He then transferred to the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, where he majored in sociology. In 2002, he caught 43 passes in 11 games, finishing second on the team in receiving with 553 yards, and third in scoring with 6 touchdowns. He received an honourable mention for Conference All-Star.

Professional career

BC Lions

Jackson was selected in the first round, 6th overall in the 2003

CFL Draft The CFL Draft (also known as the CFL Canadian Draft, CFL College Draft or the Canadian College Draft) is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) select eligible Canadian/non-import players, typically from ...

by his hometown team, the

. He signed with the Lions midway through 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 ...

. As a backup wide receiver in 2003 and 2004, he caught 16 passes for 223 yards, and played in the

2004 Grey Cup The 92nd Grey Cup game took place on November 21, 2004, at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. The game decided the championship of the 2004 Canadian Football League season. The Toronto Argonauts defeated the BC Lions 27–19. This is the f ...

against 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 ...

Jackson saw more playing time in 2005, finishing with 48 catches for 617 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a team-high 6 receptions in the West Division Final. In 2006, he was second on the team with 51 catches for 634 yards and 4 touchdowns. Jackson caught 2 touchdown passes in the West Division Final, and had 5 receptions for 65 yards in the Lions'

2006 Grey Cup The 94th Grey Cup game took place on November 19, 2006, at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba before 44,786 fans. Ticket prices ranged from $141 and $275. The game decided the championship of the 2006 Canadian Football League season. The BC ...

victory over 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 ...

. In 2007, he posted career bests in every receiving category. He has been noted as an exciting receiver for the Lions with a penchant for making acrobatic catches. Jackson recorded his best season of his career in

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; ...

when he caught 76 passes for 1,180 yards and eight touchdowns; all career highs. In recognition of his strong season, he was named a CFL West All-Star and was the BC Lions' nominee for the Most Outstanding Canadian Award For the

2009 BC Lions season The 2009 BC Lions season was the 52nd season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 56th overall. The Lions finished the season in fourth place in the West Division with a disappointing 8–10 record after losing their last three ...

, Jackson took over the

role left by the departure of

Jason Clermont Jason Clermont (born May 24, 1978) is a former professional Canadian football slotback who retired after ten seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Clermont started his professional career wit ...

and recorded his second straight 1000-yard season. In 2010, Jackson saw his receiving numbers decrease as his production was hampered by injuries and inconsistent quarterback play. He had a 111 consecutive games-played streak end this season as he missed his first CFL game of his career during BC's game against

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

on October 9, 2009. He only managed to score one touchdown this season, which was his least since 2004 when he didn't score any. For the next three seasons, Jackson was relegated to a backup role, catching no more than 10 passes for 2011,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

seasons. He did, however, have two receptions in the Lions' 99th Grey Cup victory, which was his second Grey Cup championship. On February 22, Jackson was released by the Lions, after his 11th season with the club.

Ottawa Redblacks

On March 7, 2014, Jackson signed with the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Starting ...

of the

Edmonton Eskimos

Jackson was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos on September 29, 2014.

Statistics

Personal

Jackson wears a

cross necklace __NOTOC__ A cross necklace is any necklace featuring a Christian cross or crucifix. Crosses are often worn as an indication of commitment to the Christian faith, and are sometimes received as gifts for rites such as baptism and confirmation. Co ...

that contains his deceased mother's ashes. Before each game, he dresses in his equipment and kisses the cross before removing it and placing it in his locker. On May 8, 2010, Jackson married his longtime girlfriend, hairdresser Suzy Phi, at the Brock House in Vancouver, BC. Together they have one daughter, born in September 2008, and one son born in 2011.

References

External links

Edmonton Eskimos bio

Ottawa Redblacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Paris 1980 births BC Lions players Butte Roadrunners football players Canadian football wide receivers Edmonton Elks players Living people Ottawa Redblacks players Players of Canadian football from British Columbia Canadian football people from Vancouver Utah Utes football players