Wide Receiver/Return Specialist
University of California at Berkeley Golden Bears
#1
5:11.3-178
Los Angeles, California
Long Beach Polytechnic High School
OVERVIEW
When Jackson declared for the 2008 NFL Draft on January 15th, a collective sigh by opposing defensive and special team coordinators throughout the Pac-10 Conference could be heard. In his three seasons at the university, the talented receiver consistently beat his opponents – whether as a receiver, on a reverse or via punt returns, he found the end zone 29 times in 36 games.
Jackson almost never made it to California, as he seriously considered enrolling at Southern California, but a last ditch face-to-face meeting between the former Long Beach Poly High star and Bears head coach Jeff Tedford sealed the deal. Their extremely close relationship would later make Jackson’s most difficult decision – to leave school for the National Football League, even harder to make, but the coach is convinced that his star pupil is ready to star at the next level.
On the eve of the deadline for early-entry candidates to make themselves eligible for the NFL draft, Cal's junior wide receiver still hadn't made a decision, but filed the necessary paperwork to be included in this spring's draft. "This has been a long process for me," Jackson said. "The reason I took so long is that I wanted to make sure to make the right decision, both for myself and my family. I appreciate that Cal has supported me 150 percent through this process; it was a big decision, and we'll see what happens."
"He (Jackson) is gifted. No question his speed and feel for the game is as good as there is. He's so fast. He's the fastest player I've ever seen on the football field, and that puts him in a lot of positions to be successful," California head coach Jeff Tedford said. "Any time you have DeSean, who can do the things he can, making people miss and hit things as fast as he does, it creates a huge advantage for you. With his explosive speed, you really have to take notice. If you leave him one-on-one, he's got the speed and quickness to really make plays."
At Long Beach Poly High School, Jackson was considered one the premier wide receivers in the nation. The Parade Magazine All-American was named the 2004 Glenn Davis Award winner by the L.A. Times as Southern California's Player of the Year and was a two-time member of the famed Long Beach Press-Telegram "Best in the West" first team.
ESPN.com's Tom Lemming rated Jackson as the fourth-best wide receiver in the country, Prep Star selected him an All-American and a member of its Dream Team Top 100 players, and Calhisports.com voted him the 2004 Mr. Football State Player of the Year. Super Prep ranked him 21st in its Elite 50 players in the nation and the fourth-best player in the state of California. Rivals.com rated him the third-best player in the Golden State area.
Jackson was Most Valuable Player of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, as he had seven receptions for 141 yards and passed for a 45-yard touchdown in leading the West squad to a 35-3 victory in a game that featured 80 of the nation's top players. He also sparkled in the Cali-Florida Bowl game, posting five catches for 145 yards and one score.
At Long Beach Poly, Jackson flagged down 60 passes for 1,075 yards for the CIF Southern Section championship team. He scored 15 touchdowns, eight which measured at least 60 yards or more, including two on punt returns. In the CIF title game, he was a last-minute replacement on defense and responded with two interceptions, one which he returned 68 yards for a touchdown to help fuel Long Beach Poly's 21-6 victory over Los Alamitos High. As a junior, he hunted down 43 passes for 821 yards and 11 touchdowns in earning first- team All-State accolades.
Jackson enrolled at California, Berkeley in 2005, but almost never made it to the football field. In high school, Jackson hit .380 and stole 20 bases his senior year and was considered the third-best all-around athlete in the MLB prospect pool in 2005 by Baseball America. Teams knew it would take a huge bonus to keep Jackson away from football, so they passed.
In 2005, Jackson became the first incoming Cal player to win the Glenn Davis Award since running back Russell White captured the award for Crespi High School in 1987. He took over flanker duties for the Bears, starting ten contests. He had a solid freshman campaign, totaling 698 all-purpose yards. He caught 38 passes for 601 yards (15.8 avg) and seven touchdowns, adding 48 yards on eight carries (6.0 avg). As a preview of things to come in 2006, Jackson’s only punt return produced a 49-yard touchdown vs. Sacramento State in his collegiate debut.
As a sophomore, Jackson was a consensus All-American and unanimous All-Pac 10 Conference first-team choice. He captured the inaugural Randy Moss Award as the top return man in the nation, leading the NCAA with 18.2 yards per punt return, as he ranked second in the Pac-10 with nine receiving touchdowns. He set school and Pac-10 records for season (4) and career punt return touchdowns (5) with a 95-yarder vs. Arizona. Jackson had four 100-yard receiving games and registered 28 plays of 20 or more yards. He hauled in 59 passes for 1,060 yards (18.9 avg) and gained 19 yards on five carries. He amassed 455 yards on 25 punt returns and 38 yards on two kickoff returns, piling up 1,572 all-purpose yards.
In 2007, Jackson earned American Football Coaches Association All-American first-team honors. He was a second-team All-Pac 10 Conference pick as a receiver and punt returner. He had 762 yards and six touchdowns on 65 receptions (11.7 avg). Jackson gained 132 yards with a score on eleven carries (12.0 avg) and returned only twelve punts for 129 yards (10.8 avg), including a 77-yard touchdown. He finished his junior campaign with 1,023 all-purpose yards.
In 36 games at California, Jackson started 34 games at flanker. He hauled in 162 passes for 2,423 yards (15.0 avg) and 22 touchdowns. He carried 24 times for 199 yards (8.3 avg) and a score and also attempted one pass. On special teams, he gained 633 yards with six touchdowns on 38 punt returns (16.7 avg), 38 yards on two kickoff returns and recorded five solo tackles. He finished with 3,293 all-purpose yards, an average of 91.47 yards per game. For his career, he recorded 52 plays of 20 or more yards (23.0% of his 226 touches).
CAREER NOTES
Holds the school and Pac-10 Conference career-records with six punt returns for touchdowns, two shy of the NCAA all-time record of eight scores by Wes Welker of Texas Tech (2000-03) and Antonio Perkins of Oklahoma (2001-04)…His four punt returns for touchdowns in 2006 also established league and university season-records…His four scores were one shy of the NCAA record of five…His career punt return average of 16.66 yards broke the old Cal record of 12.9 yards and ranks second in Pac-10 history behind famed baseball legend and Hall of Famer, Jackie Robinson of UCLA (18.8-yard average on 37 punts for 694 yards and two touchdowns, 1939-40)…Gained 455 yards on punt returns in 2006, breaking the old school season-record of 447 yards by Deltha O’Neal in 1998…His punt return average of 18.2 yards in 2006 broke the previous Cal season-record…His 455 yards gained on punt returns in 2006 were the most by a Pac-10 returner since Glynn Milburn of Stanford gained 573 yards in 1992…His 95-yard punt return vs. Arizona in 2006 was the seventh-longest runback in Pac-10 history and rank second in school annals…Caught 162 passes for the Cal Bears, the sixth-best career total. That total also rank 30th in Pac-10 Conference history…His 2,423 receiving yards rank 36th in the league record books and third on the school all-time list…Finished his career with 22 touchdown catches, ranking behind Sean Dawkins (31, 1990-92) and Bobby Shaw (27) on Cal’s all-time record list (also tied for 22nd in league history)…Tied with Geoff McArthur (2000-04) and Bobby Shaw (1994-97) for the school record, with eleven 100-yard receiving performances…His 65 receptions in 2007 tied Sean Dawkins (1992) for fourth on the school’s season-record list, surpassed by Dameane Douglas (100 in 1998), Geoff McArthur (85 in 2003) and Bobby Shaw (75 in 1997)…Jackson (1,060 in 2006) joined McArthur (1,504 in 2003), Dameane Douglas (1,150 in 1998), Bobby Shaw (1,093 in 1997) and Sean Dawkins (1,070 in 1992) as the only Cal players to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a season…His nine touchdown catches in 2006 tied Bobby Shaw (1996) for fifth on the Bears’ annual record chart…Amassed 3,293 all-purpose yards, the third-best career total in school history behind Deltha O’Neal (4,998 yards, 1996-99) and Russell White (3,367 yards, 1990-92)…His 1,572 all-purpose yards in 2006 rank seventh on the school’s season-record list.
2007 SEASON
Earned All-American first-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association, second-team accolades from The NFL Draft Report and third-team accolades from the Associated Press...Added All-Pac-10 Conference second-team honors as a receiver and punt returner…Semi-finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver… Bothered most of the year by a badly sprained left thumb that he suffered in the season opener vs. Tennessee, as he was forced to wear a cast in practices and have his hand heavily wrapped during games, but still went on to catch a career-high 65 passes for 762 yards (11.7 avg) and six touchdowns…Also suffered a deep thigh/quadriceps contusion that forced him to miss the second half vs. Washington and sit out the season finale vs. Stanford…Ranked fifth in the league with an average of 5.42 receptions per game and 13th with an average of 85.25 all-purpose yards each contest…Gained 132 yards with a touchdown on eleven carries (12.0 avg)…Returned twelve punts for 129 yards (10.8 avg) and a score…Registered two solo tackles and amassed 1,023 all-purpose yards while starting eleven of twelve contests at flanker (came off the bench vs. Oregon).
2006 SEASON
All-American first-team choice as a punt returner by The NFL Draft Report, Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News and Rivals.com...Captured the inaugural Randy Moss Award as the top return man in the nation, leading the NCAA ranks with an 18.2-yard average and school and league season-records with four touchdowns on 25 punt returns for a school record 455 yards… Added first-team All-Pac 10 Conference honors as a receiver and punt returner…Started all thirteen games at flanker, hauling in 59 passes for a career-high 1,060 yards (18.0 avg) and nine touchdowns…Recorded a solo tackle vs. Tennessee and added 38 yards on a pair of kickoff returns…Finished with 1,572 all-purpose yards, ranking fifth in the Pac-10 with an average of 120.92 yards per game…Gained over 100 yards receiving in four contests…Registered 28 plays of 20 or more yards…Scored at least once in each of the team’s first six games.
2005 SEASON
Started ten of eleven games at flanker as a true freshman, coming off the bench vs. UCLA and sat out the Washington State clash with a shoulder sprain…Finished with 38 catches for 601 yards (15.8 avg) and seven touchdowns…Gained 48 yards on eight reverses (6.0 avg) and returned one punt for a 49-yard score…Also attempted a pass vs. Illinois…Had two solo tackles on special teams, including one each vs. Sacramento State and Arizona and caused a fumble vs. Sacramento State.
CAMPUS AGILITY TESTS
4.29 in the 40-yard dash…250-pound bench press…395-pound squat…35-inch vertical jump.31 1/8-inch arm length…8 5/8-inch hands.
HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Long Beach (Cal.) Polytechnic High School, where he was considered one the premier wide receivers in the nation…Parade Magazine All-American and named the 2004 Glenn Davis Award winner by the Los Angeles Times as Southern California's Player of the Year…Two-time member of the famed Long Beach Press-Telegram "Best in the West" first team…ESPN.com's Tom Lemming rated Jackson as the fourth-best wide receiver in the country, Prep Star selected him an All-American and a member of its Dream Team Top 100 players, and Calhisports.com voted him the 2004 Mr. Football State Player of the Year…Super Prep ranked him 21st in its Elite 50 players in the nation and the fourth-best player in the state of California…Rivals.com rated him the third-best player in the Golden State area…Most Valuable Player of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, as he had seven receptions for 141 yards and passed for a 45-yard touchdown in leading the West squad to a 35-3 victory in a game that featured 80 of the nation's top players…Also sparkled in the Cali-Florida Bowl game, posting five catches for 145 yards and one score…
At Long Beach Poly, Jackson flagged down 60 passes for 1,075 yards for the CIF Southern Section championship team…Scored 15 touchdowns, eight which measured at least 60 yards or more, including two on punt returns…In the CIF title game, he was a last-minute replacement on defense and responded with two interceptions, one which he returned 68 yards for a touchdown to help fuel Long Beach Poly's 21-6 victory over Los Alamitos High…As a junior, he hunted down 43 passes for 821 yards and 11 touchdowns in earning first- team All-State accolades…Was considered the third-best all-around athlete in the Major League Baseball draft prospect pool in 2005 by Baseball America. Teams knew it would take a huge signing bonus to keep Jackson away from football, so they passed…Hit .380 and stole 20 bases his senior year.
PERSONAL
Social Welfare major…Brother Bryon, was a receiver at San Jose State (1990-91) who spent two seasons (1992-93) on the Kansas City Chiefs’ developmental squad…Son of Gayle and Bill Jackson...Born 12/01/86…Resides in Los Angeles, California.
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