| No. 80, 88, 83 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1971-08-16)August 16, 1971 (age 54) Gainesville, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 212 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | P. K. Yonge (Gainesville) | ||||||||
| College | Florida (1990–1993) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1994: 4th round, 109th overall pick | ||||||||
| Expansion draft | 1995: 11th round, 21st overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Willie Bernard Jackson Jr. (born August 16, 1971) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys,Jacksonville Jaguars,Cincinnati Bengals,New Orleans Saints,Atlanta Falcons andWashington Redskins. He playedcollege football for theFlorida Gators. As a football coach, he was the wide receivers coach for theOrlando Apollos of theAlliance of American Football (AAF).
Jackson was born inGainesville, Florida in 1971. He attendedP. K. Yonge High School in Gainesville,[1] where he was standout high school football player for the P. K. Yonge Blue Wave.
He played as aquarterback,running back,wingback anddefensive back. He received All-state honors as a senior, rushing for 427 yards and making 27 receptions.
Jackson accepted a football scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, where he played for coachSteve Spurrier'sFlorida Gators football team from1990 to1993.[2] After beingredshirted, he appeared in 5 games as a freshman but did not record a reception.
As a sophomore, he posted 51 receptions (second in the conference) for 725 yards and 10touchdowns (led the conference and tied for the second most ever in school history). AgainstAuburn University he had career-highs of 12 receptions (tied for the second most ever in school history) and 157 yards. Against theUniversity of Georgia, he became the fifth player in school history to make 3touchdown receptions in one game. In the1992 Sugar Bowl against theUniversity of Notre Dame, he had the second best total yardage in Gators bowl history, with 8 receptions for 148 yards.
As a junior, he had one of the best receiving seasons in school history, posting 62 receptions (led the conference and were the third most ever in school history), 772 yards (led the conference and were the fifth most ever in school history) and 8touchdowns, including a career-high 70-yardtouchdown reception in the SEC Championship game against theUniversity of Alabama.
As a senior, he started only 9 games and missed the game against theUniversity of Tennessee with a sprained left knee. He finished second on the team with 49 receptions for 675 yards and 6touchdowns.
Jackson led the team in receiving in1991 and1992, and was a first-teamAll-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1992, and an honorable mentionAll-American in 1991, 1992 and 1993.[2] Memorably, he had 148 receiving yards against theNotre Dame Fighting Irish in the1992 Sugar Bowl and 130 yards against theWest Virginia Mountaineers in the1994 Sugar Bowl.[2]
Jackson finished his college career with 162receptions (second in school history) for 2,172 yards (second in school history) and twenty-fourtouchdowns—still fifth on the Gators' all-time receiving yardage list.[2] He alsowalked-on to theFlorida Gators men's basketball team in the 1989–90 season, averaging 3 points per game and making 20 steals.
He graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1993, and was inducted into theUniversity of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2008.[3][4]
Jackson was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the fourth round (109th pick overall) of the1994 NFL draft.[5][6] After being inactive during all of the1994 season, he asked the team to leave him unprotected in the1995 NFL expansion draft, so he could get an opportunity to play in another place and not be a reserve behindMichael Irvin.[7]
In1995, the NFL's two new expansion teams, theCarolina Panthers and theJacksonville Jaguars, participated in the1995 NFL expansion draft, an opportunity to pick available players from the rosters of the existing NFL teams. The Jaguars picked Jackson from the Cowboys' unprotected list as the twenty-first overall pick in the expansion draft.[8] In their inaugural season, he led the team in receiving with 53 receptions for 589 yards and 5 touchdowns, while starting in 10 contests. In1996, he posted 33 receptions (fifth on the team) for 486 yards (fourth on the team) and 3 receiving touchdowns (tied for second on the team). In1997, his stats diminished, coinciding with the explosion in the production of wide receiversJimmy Smith andKeenan McCardell. He was waived on August 30,1998.[9] He compiled 103 catches for 1,281 yards and tentouchdowns during his time with the club.
Jackson signed with theCincinnati Bengals on September 10,1998.[10] He was declared inactive in 6 games. In1999, he ranked third on the team with 31 receptions for 369 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On April 2,2000, he signed as afree agent with theNew Orleans Saints. He started the last 6 games of the season, he ranked third on the team with 37 receptions for 523 yards and 6 touchdowns. In2001, he ranked second on the team with 81 catches for 1,046 yards and five touchdowns in sixteen starts.[11]
On July 12,2002, he signed with theAtlanta Falcons taking the place of the previously releasedJeff Graham.[12] He saw little playing time and was waived on October 28, 2002.[13]
On October 31, 2002, he signed with theWashington Redskins, reuniting with his former college coach, Steve Spurrier, thenhead coach of the team. He appeared in 5 games with one start and was cut on December 12.[14]
On March 12,2004, he signed with theDenver Broncos and was released before the season started on August 17.[15]
Jackson finished his eight-season NFL career with 284 receptions for 3,641 yards and twenty-four touchdowns.[1]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1995 | JAX | 14 | 10 | 91 | 53 | 589 | 11.1 | 45 | 5 |
| 1996 | JAX | 16 | 2 | 42 | 33 | 486 | 14.7 | 58 | 3 |
| 1997 | JAX | 16 | 1 | 35 | 17 | 206 | 12.1 | 45 | 2 |
| 1998 | CIN | 8 | 0 | 16 | 7 | 165 | 23.6 | 47 | 0 |
| 1999 | CIN | 16 | 2 | 64 | 31 | 369 | 11.9 | 29 | 2 |
| 2000 | NO | 15 | 7 | 80 | 37 | 523 | 14.1 | 53 | 6 |
| 2001 | NO | 16 | 16 | 135 | 81 | 1,046 | 12.9 | 63 | 5 |
| 2002 | ATL | 7 | 1 | 39 | 18 | 199 | 11.1 | 29 | 0 |
| WAS | 5 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 58 | 8.3 | 19 | 1 | |
| Career | 113 | 40 | 516 | 284 | 3,641 | 12.8 | 63 | 24 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1996 | JAX | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 46 | 11.5 | 19 | 0 |
| 1997 | JAX | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | NO | 2 | 2 | 23 | 15 | 267 | 17.8 | 50 | 4 |
| Career | 6 | 2 | 33 | 19 | 313 | 16.5 | 50 | 4 | |
In November 2018, Jackson was hired by his former college head coachSteve Spurrier as the wide receivers coach for theOrlando Apollos of theAlliance of American Football.[16] He remained with the team until the league folded.
On May 8, 2023, Jackson was hired by his high school alma mater, PK Yonge ashead coach[17] of the football team.
Jackson's younger brother,Terry Jackson, was atailback for the Gators from 1995 to 1998,[18] and playedrunning back andspecial teams for theSan Francisco 49ers from1999 to2005.[19] His father, Willie Jackson Sr., led the Gators in all-purpose yards and kick-off returns in the early 1970s,[2] and was one of the team's first twoAfrican-American players at theUniversity of Florida.[18] All three Jacksons wore jersey No. 22 for the Gators.[18]
