Vincent Jackson was born Jan. 14, 1983 in Colorado Springs, CO. He attended Widefield High School, where he became an All-State Honorable Mention, first-team all-area pick, and first-team all-conference pick. On top of these outstanding achievements, he was also a straight-A student and was accepted to Columbia University, but decided on University of Northern Colorado on a partial scholarship for both basketball and football.
In college, he played for the Northern Colorado Bears football team from the years 2001-2004 and earned All-American honors as a punt returner. In time, he became UNC’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, kick return yards, punt return yards and receiving touchdowns. In his senior season, against Florida Atlantic University, he got 13 catches, 249 yards and three touchdowns. He also played in UNC’s basketball for two seasons, leading the team in both seasons. Jackson was then selected in the second round, overall 61st, of the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers.
However, in comparison to his college career, Jackson had a slow start in his first NFL season due to injuries. He played his first NFL game on Oct. 16, 2005 against the Oakland Raiders. His first pass he caught was on Nov. 6, 2005 against the New York Jets, but only caught two more passes for the rest of the season. Jackson’s first touchdown was on Sept. 17, 2006 against the Tennessee Titans. He also caught a memorable touchdown during the Christmas Eve game against the Seattle Seahawks. With 29 seconds left, quarterback Philip Rivers threw the touchdown pass to Jackson to win the game 20-17. Skipping ahead to the 2008 season, he became the first Chargers wide receiver to have over 1,000 receiving yards since 2001.
He was selected for the Pro Bowl during the 2009 season, and during his first appearance, he had seven receptions for a total of 122 yards, which included a 48-yard catch and a run for a touchdown. In week 15, against the San Francisco 49ers, he had three touchdowns and 112 yards, making a career high.
Forward to 2012, Jackson signed a five-year $55.55 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was then elected as a team captain, and he set multiple records in one game against the New Orleans Saints. Such records are longest reception and longest play from scrimmage in Tampa Bay history, which is 95 yards, and the most receiving yards in a single game, which is 216 yards. He kept a decent career throughout the wins and losses of Tampa Bay, being seen as the silver lining in grey clouds.
After a long and great career, he announced his retirement on May 17, 2018.
On Feb. 15, 2021, Jackson was found dead by a housekeeper at a room near Brandon, Fla. The sheriff of Hillsborough County announced on Feb. 17 that Jackson’s family stated that he may have suffered from chronic alcoholism, which was a huge factor in his death. Jackson’s family donated his brain to the Boston University CTE Center.
Even though Vincent Jackson wasn’t a household name like Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, his career will live on in both the hearts of football players who have played with or against him, and will also live on in the hearts of football fans around the world.
