Peizhang Jackson He ( zh, c=何佩璋, p=Hé Pèizhāng) is a Chinese former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He played college football for the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

. He became the first Chinese-born player to play for a

Power Five conference The power conferences are the most prominent athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Ass ...

team when he appeared in a game against the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

on December 5, 2020. A week later, against the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

, he also became the first Chinese-born player to score a touchdown at the FBS level.

Early years

He was born in Shaoguan, China and was sent to the United States, by his parents, at age 17 for a better education. His English name, Jackson He, takes inspiration from

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. He attended Lutheran High School of San Diego where he learned to play football. Although he unsuccessfully tried for the basketball team at first, he was noticed by Ron Allen, Lutheran's football coach, due to his 250-pound weight. He was unfamiliar with the game at first, but he liked the physical intensity as well as the challenge of a new sport and stayed on the team for two years.

College football career

His college football career began at the

University of Jamestown A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown is a city in and the county seat of Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, ninth most populous city in North ...

. He was recruited to play fullback at Jamestown and redshirted his first season. In 2017, his redshirt freshman season, He rushed for 376 yards on 80 carries with one touchdown. He also caught 8 passes for 40 yards and one touchdown. He left Jamestown in 2018 and returned to China where he played professionally in the

Chinese National Football League The Chinese National Football League (CNFL), previously known as American Football League of China (AFLC) is the highest level American-rules football league in China. Founded in 2013, the AFLC has expanded rapidly and in 2019, the AFLC officiall ...

with the Foshan Tigers. However, he did not give up his football aspirations and decided to enroll at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

where he walked onto the football team. Arizona State's coach,

Herm Edwards Herman Lee Edwards (born April 27, 1954) is an American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players ...

was impressed by his work ethic and viewed him as a valuable asset for the team in regards to depth, who could be a crucial part of the scout team. He suited up in a 2020 game against UCLA wearing a jersey with his name in

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

. On December 11, 2020, during a 70–7 rout of rival Arizona, He received four handoffs, which he ran for seven yards and a touchdown. With the score, He became the first Chinese-born player to score a touchdown in the FBS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:He, Jackson 1997 births Living people American football running backs American sportspeople of Chinese descent Arizona State Sun Devils football players Chinese expatriate sportspeople Jamestown Jimmies football players Players of American football from San Diego Asian American players of American football Chinese players of American football Sportspeople from Guangdong