Also inside: - Coe College

“I knew it was a matter of
time,” Latricia Jackson said.
“We’ve been headed toward
this goal since second grade.”
“I just knew he’d be awesome,
if he got his chance,” katy
Breitbach said. “What hasn’t
he been the MVP of? I knew
he’d be fine.”
Defying the odds
Jackson, the Iowa Conference
football MVP his junior and
senior seasons, nearly gave
up on football when tryouts
with the Green Bay Packers
and Denver Broncos didn’t
amount to anything.
“I was standing right next to
him when one of the scouts
told him he wasn’t big enough
to play tailback in the NFL,”
said Coe Head Coach Erik
raeburn. “He didn’t get
discouraged. He just proved
them wrong.”
After graduation, Jackson
worked as a youth counselor
while starring for the Sioux
City Bandits, earning 2005
MVP honors in the United
Indoor Football League with
1,770 rushing yards and 53
touchdowns. By now, NFL
Hall of Fame coach Marv
Levy ’50 had returned to
Buffalo as general manager,
and Phillips encouraged his
former college coach to give
another kohawk a chance.
“Wayne is one loyal alumnus,
Coe College Courier
I’ll tell you that,” Levy said
in a telephone interview
shortly after announcing his
resignation from the Bills.
After signing with Buffalo,
Jackson was allocated to NFL
Europe and led the rhein Fire
in rushing with 731 yards. He
spent the 2006 season on the
Bills’ practice squad.
In his second training camp
with the Bills, Jackson led the
team in rushing, receiving and
kick returns. He survived the
final cuts and made the Bills’
53-man roster as one of five
running backs before signing
a two-year contract.
“It’s not the most common
road traveled by any means,”
Jackson said. “But if I had to,
I’d do it all over again.”
Making his mark
In one game as the Bills’
starter, Jackson had 151 total
yards, 82 rushing and 69
receiving, in Buffalo’s 17-16
victory over the Washington
redskins. When rookie first
round draft pick Marshawn
Lynch returned to the lineup
the next week against the
Miami Dolphins, he and
Jackson each rushed for over
100 yards. It was a first for
Buffalo since 1996.
Emerging as Lynch’s primary
backup, Jackson finished the
year with 58 rushes for 300
yards, 22 receptions for 190
yards and three kick returns
for 46 yards. His performance
made him a fan favorite in
Buffalo and a hot property in
fantasy football leagues across
the country. It also earned
him a spot on USA TODAY’s
All-Joe team, which celebrates
the NFL’s unsung heroes, and
the Bills’ Unsung Hero award,
as selected by online voting.
Levy cited Jackson as one of
the “high character” players
he targeted in his two years
as general manager. “It’s one
of those rudy stories,” he
said. “It took him two years
to finally get his chance, but
he certainly performed when
given the chance.”
Though Levy has left Buffalo,
he believes Jackson can write
his own future with the Bills.
“The coaches see him as a
talent and asset to the team,”
Levy said. “I think his future
Photo by Kristy Upah ’08
Danielle Allen Jackson ’05
and Fredrick Jackson ’03
were spotted with their son, Braeden,
at a recent Coe basketball game.
here is bright if he keeps
the same work ethic and
development on the path he
has been.”
There’s nothing to indicate
otherwise.
“Nothing’s changed,” Jackson
said, “I’m still the same
Freddie Jackson.”
So it seemed on New Year’s
Day, two days after the
Bills’ season ended in a loss
to the Philadelphia Eagles,
when Fredrick and Danielle
knocked on the door of the
Breitbach home. The happy
reunion inevitably led to
dinner at Texas roadhouse.
This time, however, Fredrick
paid the tab.
13
www.coe.edu