Keith Jerome Jackson (born April 19, 1965) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

who played in 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) 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 ...

(1988–1991),

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

(1992–1994), and

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 ...

(1995–1996). He played

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 the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

Early life

Jackson was born in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. He attended Little Rock Parkview High School and garnered All-State team honors on offense (tight end) and defense (safety). He was named to the 1983 ''Parade''

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Team. In 2011, ''Parade'' named Jackson to the Top ''Parade'' All-America High School Football Players of All Time.

College career

Jackson played for the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

from 1984 to 1987, where he was nicknamed "Boomer Sooner". The

Sooners Sooners is the name given to settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands illegally in what is now the state of Oklahoma before the official start of the Land Rush of 1889. The Unassigned Lands were a part of Indian Territory that, after a lobbyi ...

had a 42–5–1 record in his four seasons and won a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in 1985. Jackson caught a total of 62 passes for 1,407 yards, at an average of 23.7 yards per catch, and was a

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term '' All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Footbal ...

selection in 1985, 1986, and 1987. In the 1986 Orange Bowl, played for the national championship, Jackson caught a 71-yard pass from Jamelle Holieway for a touchdown, the first of his team's two touchdowns in the Sooners' victory over

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. Jackson was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2001. He was later voted Offensive Player of the Century at the University of Oklahoma. He is also a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

Professional career

After being drafted by the

in the first round of the 1988 NFL draft, Jackson recorded 81 receptions for 869 yards, and 6 touchdowns in his first season, along with seven catches for 142 yards in the Eagles' only playoff game that year, and won the NFC Rookie of the Year award. The Eagles team record of 869 receiving yards in Jackson's rookie season was broken by

DeSean Jackson DeSean William Jackson (born December 1, 1986) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Delaware State Hornets football, Delaware State University. Known for his speed, he is recog ...

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 ...

, who also became the first rookie since Keith Jackson to lead the team in receptions. In 1992, Jackson was part of a lawsuit to challenge the "Plan B" form of free agency (filing the suit in federal court), which let each team protect 37 players in a limited form of free agency. When the lawsuit was ruled in favor of the filers, Jackson was declared a free agent immediately. On September 28, 1992, he signed a four-year, $6 million contract with the

. Jackson made his Miami Dolphins debut six days later in a 37–10 win versus the eventual AFC champion Buffalo Bills, recording four receptions and 64 receiving yards, including a 24-yard touchdown score. In his nine seasons, Jackson made the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

five times (1988–1990, 1992, 1996). On March 29, 1995, he was traded to the

for a second round draft pick when Miami signed Eric Green, making Jackson expendable. Initially not happy, he held out until October, crediting

Reggie White Reginald Howard White (December 19, 1961 – December 26, 2004) was an American professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. White played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, ear ...

among other things. In his final season, Jackson made 40 receptions for 505 yards and a career-high 10 touchdowns, assisting the Green Bay Packers to a 13–3 record and a win in

Super Bowl XXXI Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

. On March 26, 1997, he announced his retirement, stating that he had noticed his skills were starting to decline but also noting that the win influenced him to retire on top. Jackson finished his career with 441 receptions for 5,283 yards and 49 touchdowns, with the latter category being 3rd most among tight ends when he retired. During his career, every time he had a highlight on ''

NFL Primetime ''NFL Primetime'' is a sports television program that has aired on ESPN since 1987. The show is presented similarly to ESPN's own ''SportsCenter'', featuring scores, highlights, and analysis of every game of the week in the NFL. When it debuted ...

'',

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

anchor Chris Berman would make reference to his famous name by imitating the voice of sports broadcaster

Keith Jackson Keith Max Jackson (October 18, 1928 – January 12, 2018) was an American sports commentator, journalist, author, and radio personality, known for his career with ABC Sports (1966–2006). While he covered a variety of sports over his caree ...

. In 2022, the

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by w ...

named Jackson to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2022.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

After football

Jackson was a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

on radio broadcasts for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

, but is now retired. His eldest son, Keith Jackson Jr., played defensive line at Arkansas and was selected by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

in the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

. His younger son, Koilan, played wide receiver at Arkansas; however announced his retirement from college football (due to injuries) on August 25, 2021. In November 2012, Jackson was named as a 2013 recipient of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Silver Anniversary Award, presented each year to six distinguished former college student-athletes on the 25th anniversary of the completion of their college sports careers. Jackson is also the founder of P.A.R.K., Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids, a non-profit organization and an outreach program for inner city youths in Little Rock.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Keith 1965 births Living people All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football tight ends College Football Hall of Fame inductees Green Bay Packers players Miami Dolphins players National Conference Pro Bowl players Oklahoma Sooners football players Players of American football from Little Rock, Arkansas Philadelphia Eagles players College football announcers NFL announcers