Kenneth Jackson (born February 15, 1962) 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 ...

player. He played

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 ...

for eight seasons 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) with 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 ...

and

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

and was twice named a college

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 ...

Penn 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 campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

(1982 and 1983).

Early life

Jackson grew up in South River, New Jersey and was a highly recruited athlete out of South River High School, where he excelled in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and track. The school retired his #21 football jersey in October 1994. Jackson was inducted into the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame in 1996.

Career

College

Jackson was Penn State's first All-American wide receiver. By his senior year in 1983, he held 27 school records. He still ranks second in career receiving yards among Nittany Lions with 2,006. He enjoyed his best season in 1982 when he hauled in 41 passes for 697 yards and seven touchdowns en route to Penn State's first National Championship. *1980: 21 catches for 386 yards and 5 touchdowns. 4 carries for -5 yards. 13 punt returns for 80 yards. 1 kick return for 23 yards. *1981: 19 catches for 440 yards and 6 touchdowns. 6 carries for 92 yards. *1982: 41 catches for 697 yards and 7 touchdowns. 5 carries for 9 yards and 1 touchdown. 1 punt return for 11 yards. *1983: 28 catches for 483 yards and 7 touchdowns. 7 carries for 78 yards and 1 touchdown. 7 punt returns for 59 yards. 2 kick returns for 22 yards.

Professional career

Jackson was the first round pick (#4 overall) of the Philadelphia Eagles in the

1984 NFL draft The 1984 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held May 1–2, 1984 NFL season, ...

. He enjoyed an eight-year career in the NFL with the Eagles and

. He finished his professional career with 126 receptions for 2,170 yards and 11

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. Jackson announced his retirement after the 1987 season to run Kenny's Korner, a deli in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

. He re-signed with the Eagles during the 1988 season.

Coaching

Jackson served on the coaching staff at his alma mater for eight seasons, coaching Penn State's wide receivers from 1993 to 2000. There he helped develop future NFL players Bobby Engram, Freddie Scott, and Joe Jurevicius. He served as an assistant coach with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

from 2001 to 2003.

Broadcasting

Jackson is a sideline reporter for the

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of College athletics, collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news ...

Personal life

Jackson and former NFL

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 ...

Blair Thomas are partners in a chain of

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

-area sports bars called KoKoMos. In April 2008, Jackson and seven other former NFL players traveled to the Middle East to visit with troops and coach them in the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

's ''Operation Gridiron: Huddle with the Troops'', a

flag football Flag football is a variant of gridiron football (American football or Canadian football depending on location) where, instead of Tackle (football move)#Gridiron football, tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or ...

tournament for service personnel serving overseas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Kenny 1962 births Living people American football wide receivers Houston Oilers players Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football players Sportspeople from Neptune Township, New Jersey People from South River, New Jersey Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers coaches South River High School (New Jersey) alumni Players of American football from Middlesex County, New Jersey Players of American football from Monmouth County, New Jersey 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen All-American college football players