Bennett Troy Jackson, Jr. (born September 16, 1991) is an

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 wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

who is a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.

High school

Jackson grew up in

Hazlet, New Jersey Hazlet is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located near the Raritan Bay within the Raritan Valley region. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area and is a bedroom community of New York. As of th ...

, where he attended

Raritan High School Raritan High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Hazlet Township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Hazl ...

. He recorded 40 receptions for 729 yards and rushed 20 times for 350 yards as senior in 2010. He also played defensive back and intercepted four passes in 2009, helping lead Raritan to 8–3 record in 2009. He caught 35 passes for 509 yards with four touchdowns during his junior season in 2008 and rushed 35 times for 267 yards and four touchdowns. He added two passing touchdowns, two punt returns for touchdowns and one kickoff return for a score during his junior season, averaging 38 yards per kickoff return and 18 yards per punt return in 2008. He also competed in track and field as sprinter and a

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. He was a specialist in the 110 meter hurdles, he ran a personal best of 13.75 seconds. He also competed in the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...

, 200 meters and

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

, posting personal bests of 10.82 seconds, 21.73 seconds and 49.36 seconds, respectively. Considered a three-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, he was rated as the 61st best wide receiver in the nation. He committed to Notre Dame over offers from

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

and Northwestern.

College career

Jackson began his career at wide receiver playing mostly on special teams as a freshman in 2010. He recorded ten total tackles and had one carry for twenty yards. In 2011, after converting to

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in spring practice, playing mostly on special teams and as a backup, he recorded 18 tackles. In his junior season in 2012, he started all 13 games. He recorded 65 total tackles, including one and a half for loss, four interceptions and four pass break ups while playing the entire season with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. In 2013, as a senior, he recorded 64 tackles, including five for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, two interceptions and three pass breakups.

Professional career

New York Giants

Jackson was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round (187th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft. He signed his rookie contract with the Giants on May 19, 2014. He was cut on August 30, 2014 as part of the cutdown to 53 players, but was assigned to the practice squad the next day. In the beginning of the 2015 NFL Season, the Giants announced that Jackson will be moving from cornerback to safety. On August 22, 2015, Jackson suffered a torn ACL in the Giants' second preseason game and missed the rest of the season. On September 1, 2015, he was placed on injured reserve by the Giants. On August 30, 2016, Jackson was released by the Giants.

Baltimore Ravens

On January 3, 2018, Jackson signed a reserve/future contract with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on August 31, 2018. He was released on September 6, 2018. He was re-signed to the practice squad on November 27, 2018. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on January 8, 2019. On August 31, 2019, Jackson was waived by the Ravens.

New York Jets

On September 1, 2019, Jackson was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets. He was waived on September 16, 2019 and re-signed to the practice squad.

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On October 15, 2019, Jackson was signed by the Baltimore Ravens off the Jets practice squad. He was waived on December 2, 2019.

New York Jets (second stint)

On December 3, 2019, Jackson was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets. On March 25, 2020, Jackson was re-signed by the Jets. He was released on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 3, 2020. He was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2020. Jackson re-signed with the Jets again on April 8, 2021. He was waived on August 17, 2021. Jackson was re-signed on August 20, 2021. He was released on August 30, 2021.

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Bennett 1991 births Living people American football cornerbacks New York Jets players Baltimore Ravens players New York Giants players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players People from Hazlet, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey