DeSean Jackson NFL Draft Bio

DeSean Jackson NFL Draft Bio

DeSean Jackson (born December 1, 1986 in Long Beach, California) is a college football wide receiver and punt return specialist for the California Golden Bears. He currently owns Pac-10 records for punts returned for a touchdown both in a season (four), and in a career (six). Jackson ranks third all-time at California for receiving yards with 2,423 and receiving touchdowns with 22. He is sixth in receptions (162). Jackson finished with 52 career plays of 20 yards or more, making up 23 percent of his 226 touches.

On January 15, 2008, Jackson announced, on the deadline date, that he would enter the upcoming 2008 NFL Draft. Jackson is currently projected to be a 1st round pick in the by many NFL Draft analysts. Scouts Inc. lists Jackson as the nation's No. 11 overall prospect, and ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Jackson the nation's top junior receiver.

College California
Conference Pac-10
Sport Football
Position Wide receiver
Jersey # 1
Class Junior
Major Social Welfare
Nickname Tha One, D-Jax
Career 2005 – present
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 171 pounds (77.6 kg)
Nationality United States
Born December 1, 1986 (1986-12-01) (age 21)
Long Beach, California
High school Long Beach Polytechnic High School

Awards
2004 Glenn Davis Award
2005 Pete Dawkins Trophy
2006 Randy Moss Award
Honors
First Team 2006 All-American Punt Returner, 1st Team All-Pac 10 Receiver
First Team 2007 All-American

Records
Career Punt Returns for Touchdowns (6) Punt Returns for Touchdowns in a season (4)
Championships
2006 Pac-10 Co-Champions
Bowl games
2005 Las Vegas Bowl, 2006 Holiday Bowl, 2007 Armed Forces Bowl

Personal
Jackson is the son of Bill and Gayle Jackson. His older brother Byron is a former San Jose State receiver who spent two seasons on the Kansas City Chiefs developmental squad.

Jackson intended to pursue a degree in social welfare at Cal. It is unclear if he finished his degree before leaving for the NFL. High school
Jackson was regarded as one of the top wide receiver recruits in the nation coming out of Long Beach Polytechnic High School, with many collegiate football programs pursuing his services. He was named the 2004 Glenn Davis Award winner by the Los Angeles Times as Southern California's player of the year.

Jackson caught 60 passes for 1,075 yards for 15 touchdowns his senior year, leading the Jack Rabbits to a CIF Southern Section championship. He was pressed into service last minute as a defensive back in the section title game, against Los Alamitos High School, responding with two interceptions, one which he returned 68 yards for a touchdown to help fuel Long Beach Poly's 21-6 victory.

To cap off his high school career, Jackson was voted the Most Valuable Player at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, where he caught seven balls for 141 yards and passed for a 45-yard touchdown in leading the West to a 35-3 victory in a game that featured 80 of the nation's top players. However, he was also involved in an embarrassing play where he attempted to sommersault for a touchdown, but landed on the one yard line. ESPN.com's Tom Lemming rated him as the number four wide receiver in the country, PrepStar selected him an All-American and a member of its Dream Team Top 100 players, and Calhisports.com voted him the 2004 Mr. Football State Player of the Year. He committed to Jeff Tedford's football program at Cal, making his announcement on Southern California's FSN West. Jackson wanted until the deadline to chose between scholarship offers for California and USC.

College
Jackson in 2006 against Washington State

2005
In his first collegiate game against Sacramento State in 2005, Jackson scored both an offensive and special teams touchdown, returning a punt 49 yards for a score. Throughout his freshman season, Jackson spearheaded the Bears passing attack, picking up 38 receptions for 601 yards along with seven touchdowns. He eclipsed the 100-yard mark three times. In the Las Vegas Bowl game against Brigham Young University, Jackson tallied 130 yards and two scores.

2006
Coming into his sophomore year with high expectations, Jackson displayed more of his talent and playmaking ability, tallying 1,060 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He was also a constant threat to return any opponent punt into a highlight reel touchdown, taking four returns for a score and averaging 19.2 yards per a punt return - best in the nation. He was voted All Pac-10 first team as both a punt returner and a wide receiver. Jackson also garnered national recognition with selections to first team All-America by the Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, the Football Writers Association of America, the Sporting News and Rivals.com as a punt returner. Jackson also captured the inaugural Randy Moss Award as the top return man in the nation. In one only two California losses in Pac-10 play, Jackson had a 95 yard punt return for a touchdown against Arizona.

2007
Following an excellent sophomore campaign, Jackson entered his junior season with extremely high expectations, and was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate. He opened the season with a 77 yard punt return against Tennessee. Despite the pre-season hype, however, Jackson failed to improve upon his previous year's statistics. He finished the 2007 season with 65 catches for 762 yards, and scoring 6 touchdowns as a receiver. Jackson suffered several minor injuries that limited his effectiveness at times during the season along with a right thigh injury that forced him to miss most of the game against Washington and the Big Game against Stanford. He also missed the first quarter of the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl for violating undisclosed team rules. Although his receiving stats failed to live up to pre-season expectations, Jackson still played a large role in Cal's pass offense. His presence on the field often drew special attention from opposing defenses, creating opportunities for fellow Cal wideouts Lavelle Hawkins, who enjoyed his best season, and Robert Jordan.

Despite his disappointing season as a receiver, Jackson was still named an All-American as a return specialist.

Statistics

                          Receiving:        Punt returning:           Rushing: 
Year    Ag  Tm  G  GS Rec   Yds  Avg Lng TD Ret Yds  Avg Lng TD Att Yds  Avg Lng TD 
2005    18 Cal 11  10  38   601 15.8  56  7   1  49 49.0  49  1   8  48  6.0  17  0 
2006    19 Cal 13  13  59 1,060 18.0  62  9  25 455 18.2  95  4   5  19  3.8   9  0 
2007    20 Cal 12  11  65   762 11.7  44  6  12 129 10.8  77  1  11 132 12.0  73  1 
Totals:        36  34 162 2,423 15.0  62 22  38 633 16.7  95  6  24 199  8.3  73  1 

Stats through September 25, 2007.

Draft Year: 2008

DeSean Jackson NFL Prospect Stats

Pre-Rank	Prospect Name	Position Played	Height	Weight
12	DeSean Jackson	Wide Receiver	6-0	171
Round	Selected	Team	School	Hometown
			California	Long Beach, California

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Sportspool.com pre ranked DeSean Jackson as a projected #12 prospect for the 2008 NFL Draft

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DeSean Jackson is a top NFL prospect from the 2008 NFL Draft. 2008 draft prospect DeSean Jackson player profile, bio, statistics, pre ranked mock draft and more. Enjoy our information database on DeSean Jackson a 6-0' 171 lbs Wide Receiver from California.

DeSean Jackson #12 prospect in 2008 NFL Draft.

Learn more about 2008 NFL Draft Prospect DeSean Jackson