| Personal information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | November 9, 1998 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 209 lb (95 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Hillsboro (Nashville, Tennessee) | ||||
| College: | Eastern Kentucky (2017–2022) | ||||
| Position: | Safety | ||||
| NFL draft: | 2023: undrafted | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||
| |||||
Matthew Alexander Jackson (born November 9, 1998) is an American professional football safety. He played college football for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.
Jackson was born on November 9, 1998. [1] He attended Hillsboro High School and competed in both football and track and field. [2] As a junior in 2015, he had 39 total stops, an interception, and two defensive touchdowns. [3] The following season, he was named team captain and led the squad with 64 tackles, additionally having two interceptions, one of which he returned for a 100-yard touchdown. [2] At the same time, he won the city long jump championship while competing in track and field and participated at the state tournament. [2] He committed to play college football for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels over several other FCS offers. [3]
As a true freshman at Eastern Kentucky in 2017, Jackson redshirted. [4] He saw limited action over the next two seasons, having 11 tackles in 11 games in 2018 and 15 tackles in 10 games in 2019 while appearing mostly on special teams. [4] [5] He saw his first major action in 2020; starting at linebacker, he recorded a team-leading 79 tackles, as well as eight TFLs and 2.5 sacks, in nine games, three of which were played against FBS opponents. [5] The following season, Jackson posted 102 tackles, 11 TFLs, eight pass breakups, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in 11 games played, earning all-conference honors, being a candidate for the Buck Buchanan Award for best FCS defensive player, and winning Phil Steele's ASUN Conference Defensive Player of the Year Award. [5] [6] [7] In his final year, 2022, he led Eastern Kentucky with 87 tackles and also compiled 7.5 TFLs, two fumble recoveries and two sacks on his way to being named all-conference and a third-team All-American by Stats Perform. [2] [8]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (1.87 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.52 s | 1.64 s | 2.53 s | 4.37 s | 7.01 s | 38.5 in (0.98 m) | 11 ft 2 in (3.40 m) | 17 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day [9] | ||||||||||||
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Jackson was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent. [10] He was one of five undrafted rookies to make the team's final roster. [11] He was waived on November 18 and re-signed to the practice squad three days later. [12] [13] He was promoted to the active roster on January 6, 2024.
Jackson was waived on August 27, 2024. [14]
Jackson was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice squad on August 29, 2024. [15]