Austin Jackson (American football)
 Jackson while playing for USC in 2019 | |||||||
| No. 73 – Miami Dolphins | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | August 11, 1999 Sacramento, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 315 lb (143 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | North Canyon (Phoenix, Arizona) | ||||||
| College: | USC (2017–2019) | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2020 / round: 1 / pick: 18 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Roster status: | Injured reserve | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||
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Austin Jackson (born August 11, 1999) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and was drafted by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Early life
[edit]Jackson grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and attended North Canyon High School, where he played defensive and offensive line on the school's football team and also was a member of the basketball and track and field teams.[1] Jackson was rated a five-star recruit and the best collegiate prospect in Arizona as a senior and committed to play college football at the University of Southern California over offers from Washington and Arizona State.[2]
College career
[edit]Jackson played in all 14 of the Trojans games as a true freshman, appearing as a reserve offensive lineman and playing special teams on the field goal unit where he played on both sides and blocked a kick against Colorado.[3][4] He was named USC's starting left tackle going into his sophomore year and started all 12 of the team's games.[5]
Jackson missed part of the summer practices going into his junior season due having surgery to donate bone marrow to his sister, who has Diamond–Blackfan anemia.[6] He returned to practice in early August and worked his way back to playing shape in time to begin the season as the Trojans starting left tackle.[7] Jackson was named the Pac-12 Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week for Week 2 after his performance, which included blocking a 43-yard field goal attempt, in a 45–20 win over #23 Stanford on September 7, 2019.[8] He was named first-team All-Pac-12 at the end of his junior year.[9] Following the 2019 season, Jackson announced that he would forgo his senior year and declared for the 2020 NFL draft.[10] Jackson played in all 39 of USC's games during his collegiate career with 25 starts.[11]
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+7⁄8 in (1.95 m) |
322 lb (146 kg) |
34+1⁄8 in (0.87 m) |
10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) |
5.07 s | 1.73 s | 2.92 s | 7.95 s | 31.0 in (0.79 m) |
9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) |
27 reps | 25 | |
| All values from NFL Combine[12][13] | ||||||||||||
Jackson was drafted by the Miami Dolphins with the 18th pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.[14] The Dolphins previously traded defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Pittsburgh Steelers to acquire the pick. Jackson made his NFL debut on September 13, 2020, in the season opener against the New England Patriots, starting at left tackle and playing all of the team's offensive snaps.[15] Jackson was placed on injured reserve on October 9, 2020, after suffering a foot injury in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks.[16] He was activated on November 7, 2020.[17] He was placed on short-term injured reserve with an ankle injury on September 16, 2022.[18]
Jackson entered the 2022 season as the Dolphins starting right tackle. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve on September 16, 2022.[19] The Dolphins activated Jackson off of injured reserve on November 1.[20] He was placed back on injured reserve on December 5.[21]
Jackson returned as the Dolphins right tackle in 2023. After starting every game protecting the blindside of Tua Tagovailoa, he signed a three-year, $36 million contract extension with $20.7 million guaranteed.[22]
Jackson started 8 games for the Dolphins in 2024, and logged one fumble recovery. On November 12, 2024, it was announced that Jackson would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery.[23]
Personal life
[edit]Jackson's grandfather, Melvin Jackson, also played offensive line at USC and played in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers.[24] In the summer of 2019, Jackson donated bone marrow to his younger sister Autumn, who had a rare form of anemia.[14]
He is currently dating McKayla Rain whom he shares one son with, born in 2023.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ Barnett, Josh (January 27, 2017). "Meet Austin Jackson, the nation's most low-key recruit". USA Today. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Chris (January 31, 2017). "USC lands commitment from five-star offensive tackle Austin Jackson". SI.com. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ Brown, Russell (November 7, 2019). "Austin Jackson:Left TAckle on the Rise". Cover1.net. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
- ^ "No. 11 USC pulls away from Colorado". Reuters. November 12, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ Trevino, Chris (July 25, 2019). "Helton: OT Austin Jackson working his way back to full strength". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
- ^ Kartje, Ryan (August 3, 2019). "USC's Austin Jackson calls bone marrow donation to sister 'a godsend'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ "USC's Jackson returns to practice after donating bone marrow". FoxSports.com. Associated Press. August 3, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ "USC's Austin Jackson wins Pac-12 Football Offensive Lineman of the Week honors". Yahoo! Sports. September 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ Trevino, Chris (December 10, 2019). "USC Football: NFL mock drafts tabs OT Jackson at Top 15 pick". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- ^ "USC's Austin Jackson says he'll forgo senior year, enter draft". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ^ D'Angelo, Tom (April 24, 2020). "Dolphins NFL Draft: First-round pick OT Austin Jackson calls his ceiling 'incredibly high'". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ "Austin Jackson Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ "2020 NFL Draft Scout Austin Jackson College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ a b Maiorana, Sal (April 23, 2020). "3 things to know about Miami Dolphins No. 18 overall pick Austin Jackson". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ Schad, Joe (September 16, 2020). "What impressed coaches most about Austin Jackson's debut". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ Wolfe, Cameron (October 9, 2020). "Dolphins put rookie first-round LT Austin Jackson on IR with foot injury". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ "Activated Austin Jackson, Elevated Kirk Merritt". MiamiDolphins.com. November 7, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ Jackson, Barry (September 16, 2022). "Dolphins' Jackson to miss at least four games. An update on where offensive line stands". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Louis-Jacques, Marcel (September 16, 2022). "Miami Dolphins RT Austin Jackson out at least four games after being placed on injured reserve". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ "Miami Dolphins make roster moves". MiamiDolphins.com. November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- ^ Louis-Jacques, Marcel (December 5, 2022). "Dolphins sign OT Eric Fisher, put OT Austin Jackson on IR". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Simmons, Myles (December 7, 2023). "Dolphins, Austin Jackson agree to three-year extension". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
- ^ "Dolphins' Austin Jackson set for knee surgery; season over". espn.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
- ^ Patterson, Chip (February 1, 2017). "USC's huge National Signing Day push anchored by blue-chip OT Austin Jackson". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 9, 2019.