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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state 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 The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He was selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played

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at Notre Dame.

Early life

Jackson grew up in

Hazlet, New Jersey Hazlet is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. 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 C ...

, where he attended Raritan High School. He recorded 40 receptions for 729 yards and rushed 20 times for 350 yards as senior in 2010. He also played

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

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. 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, 200 meters and 400 meters, posting personal bests of 10.82 seconds, 21.73 seconds and 49.36 seconds, respectively. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the 61st best

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the nation. He committed to Notre Dame over offers from Michigan State,

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

and Northwestern.

College career

Jackson began his career at

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 selected by the

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 (first stint)

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. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. 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 (first stint)

On September 1, 2019, Jackson was claimed off waivers by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. 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 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 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 Monmouth County, New Jersey Raritan High School alumni