Jackson Bobo (born August 4, 1998) 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 wit ...
wide receiver for the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
(NFL). He played
college football at
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...
before transferring to
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...
and was signed as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
by the Seahawks after the
2023 NFL Draft
The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29 ...
.
Early years
Bobo grew up in
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...
, and attended the
Belmont Hill School
Belmont Hill School is an independent boys school on a campus in Belmont, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The school enrolls approximately 440 students in grades 7-12, separated into the Middle School (grades 7-9) and the Upper School (grade ...
. He caught 34 passes for 514 yards and five
touchdowns
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 Americ ...
as a senior. Bobo was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play
college football at Duke over offers from
Wake Forest,
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...
, and
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
.
College career
Bobo began his college career at
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...
. He played in all 13 of the Blue Devils' games as a freshman and caught 10 passes for 167 yards and one touchdown. Bobo missed the opening of his sophomore season with a broken collarbone. As a junior, he led Duke with 358 receiving yards on 32 receptions and scored one touchdown. Bobo caught 74 passes for 794 yards and one touchdown in 2021. After the season, Bobo entered the
NCAA transfer portal
The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool launched on October 15, 2018, to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member ...
.
Bobo ultimately transferred to
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...
. He caught six passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns in the Bruins' 40–32 upset win over 15th-ranked Washington. Bobo finished the season with 57 receptions for 817 yards and seven touchdowns.
College statistics
Professional career
Following the conclusion of the
2023 NFL Draft
The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29 ...
, the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...
signed Bobo as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
. Following a standout preseason, during which starting
wide receiver DK Metcalf
DeKaylin Zecharius "DK" Metcalf (born December 14, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss. He is the son of former NFL guard Terrenc ...
praised him as "more detailed than I will ever be," the Seahawks announced that he had made the initial 53-man roster. In a Week 2 win against the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
, Bobo caught his first regular-season NFL pass, gaining three yards on a toss from Seahawks quarterback
Geno Smith
Eugene Cyril "Geno" Smith III (born October 10, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at West Virginia, leading the Mountaineers to multiple bowl gam ...
. Bobo caught his first regular-season NFL touchdown during the Week 3 victory over the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
when he came down with a 5-yard jump ball from Smith during the fourth quarter.
"More Bobo"
Amid an outstanding
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
in 2023, running backs coach Chad Morton coined the phrase "More Bobo," which was quickly picked up by the locker room in recognition of his consistent performance and playmaking abilities. The phrase grew in popularity among both teammates and fans as Bobo continued to impress, with multiple teammates including starters
Ken Walker and Geno Smith,
repeating it during press conferences; the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
and the Seahawks organization noting the use of the #MoreBobo hashtag among fans.
Regular season
Personal life
Bobo is the son of Mike and Casey Bobo, who both graduated from
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
. Mike played college football at
Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to:
Places
* Dartmouth, Devon, England
** Dartmouth Harbour
* Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States
* Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
* Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia
Institutions
* Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...
as a wide receiver, where he helped the Big Green
to an Ivy League championship, but is not the same
Mike Bobo
Robert Michael Bobo (born April 9, 1974) is an American college football coach who is currently the Offensive Analyst for the Georgia Bulldogs. He was recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Auburn Tigers. He was the he ...
who is currently the offensive coordinator for the
Georgia Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...
.
References
Boyle, John (August 29, 2023) “Seahawks Make Roster Moves, Establish Initial 2023 53-Man Roster.” Retrieved August 29, 2023.
External links
Seattle Seahawks bioDuke Blue Devils bioUCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobo, Jake
1998 births
Living people
Players of American football from Massachusetts
Belmont High School (Massachusetts) alumni
American football wide receivers
UCLA Bruins football players
Duke Blue Devils football players
Seattle Seahawks players