Jamaal J. Jackson (born May 8, 1980) is a 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who played for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). After playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

Delaware State Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a privately governed, state-assisted historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The un ...

, he was signed by the Eagles as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2003. He was the Eagles' starting center from 2005 to 2010.

College career

After graduating from

Miami High School Miami Senior High School, also known as Miami High School, is a public high school located at 2450 SW 1st Street in Miami, Florida, and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Founded in 1903, it is one of the oldest high schools in Miam ...

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in 1998, Jackson played

Professional career

After going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

, Jackson was signed by the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

. He spent the 2003 season on the team's

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

and the 2004 season on the team's

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

after suffering a torn triceps. In the 2005 season he earned the

starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...

job at

after Hank Fraley went down with an injury. He started all eight remaining games that season. He signed a seven-year extension with the Eagles on July 20, 2006. Jackson and Fraley appeared on the cover of the August 14, 2006 issue of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'', as they were in a battle for the starting center job—a rare feat for an offensive lineman. Jackson eventually beat out Fraley for the job when Fraley was traded to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. Jackson started in every game for the Eagles from

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

–

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

after winning the starting job from Fraley. After starting in the first 15 games in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Jackson suffered a knee injury during a week 16 game against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, which prevented him from playing in most of the game.

Nick Cole Nicholas Darnell Cole (born July 28, 1984) is a former American football guard and center. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at New Mexico State. College career Cole played ...

replaced him at center. The knee injury turned out to be a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

(ACL), which kept Jackson from playing the rest of the year. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on December 29. Jackson was placed on the Active/ Physically Unable to Perform list at the beginning of training camp on July 26, 2010. He was activated on August 15. Jackson was injured in the Eagles' season opener on September 12, 2010, against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

and left the game. It was later revealed that he suffered a torn triceps, and would be out the remainder of the 2010 season. He was placed on injured reserve on September 13. Jackson competed with rookie

Jason Kelce Jason Daniel Kelce ( ; born November 5, 1987) is an American former professional football center who spent his entire 13-year career with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Kelce played college football for the Cinci ...

during training camp in 2011 for the starting center job, but lost out as the Eagles changed offensive line schemes. He appeared in all 16 games in 2011 as a backup. Jackson was released following the 2011 season on March 14, 2012. Jackson attended rookie mini-camp with 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 May 2012, but left the team after one day.

Personal life

Jackson is married to Daira who is the owner of 7Zen HairArtistry in South Jersey where they reside. His daughters are Donaira, Ava, Amya, Jayaana and Daelania. His sons are Harry & Rah. His dog's name is Lucas.

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Jamaal 1980 births Living people Miami Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Miami American football centers American football offensive guards Delaware State Hornets football players Philadelphia Eagles players