longtimer
04-09-2006, 10:20 AM
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_3689161
Article Launched: 04/09/2006 1:00 AM MDT
denver broncos
Jackson tackling change in career
Former basketball player a developing defensive end
By Mike Klis
Denver Post Staff Writer
In their annual search for better talent, the Broncos are counting all the usual resources.
Free agency. The draft. Waiver wire. Practice squad. Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart?
If there is one message the Broncos wish their public could better understand, it is that there always are places outside the norm to find talented players. Always.
Last September, as the Broncos were catching guff for their decision to draft Maurice Clarett with the last pick in the third round, they quietly signed a big, left-handed, former basketball player in Corey Jackson.
A defensive end Broncos fans soon may regard as the man who replaced Trevor Pryce, Jackson came from nowhere and everywhere.
"One of the things we take great pride in is the development of what you might call the peripheral player," Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist said.
To strengthen their receiving corps, the Broncos are counting not on Terrell Owens but David Terrell, a former first-round draft pick plucked from the released heap last year.
To help replace the void of departed free-agent running back Mike Anderson, the Broncos will take a long look at Cedric Cobbs, whom they slotted as a second-rounder in the draft two years ago and put on their practice squad last year after signing him as a free agent.
Ranger to the rescue
As for Jackson, it can be safely stated his route to the NFL would throw MapQuest into a directional glitch. Let's go back to Jackson's high school graduation day in 1997 and his hometown of Cassatt, S.C. (pop. 4,412). At that point, Jackson was several ZIP codes outside the periphery.
A basketball player who never played varsity football, Jackson couldn't get a college coach to watch him play basketball, either, much less offer a scholarship. Figuring it was time to get on with life, he worked two jobs that summer, one at Wal-Mart, the other in a factory.
"Back-breaking work," Jackson said. "I just decided I didn't want to kill myself like that."
He had a cousin who was going to play football at a junior college in Ranger, Texas. Ranger is a rural town of about 2,500 citizens. His back aching, Jackson cold-called the Ranger basketball coach, Todd Neighbors.
Having received dozens of such calls previously, Neighbors told Jackson to mail him a tape. Jackson didn't have one, but he's nothing if not resourceful. He made the 1,157-mile bus trip from Cassatt to a town just outside Ranger.
"It's the first day of class and I get a call in my office," Neighbors said. "He says, 'Coach, this is Corey Jackson.' And I said, 'Who?"'
Once Neighbors gently chided Jackson about the missing tape, the caller said he was down at the bus stop and needed a ride.
"I said, 'I'll pick you up, but if you're not 6-8, I'm going to leave you there,"' Neighbors said.
At 6-feet-6, Jackson was close enough to earn a lift. Neighbors arranged for a team pickup game and on the first play, Jackson dunked. He had a junior college scholarship.
"It was do or die," said Jackson, 27. "I either make the team or I go back to South Carolina."
Noticed at Nevada
Jackson eventually brought his lunch-bucket style to the University of Nevada. In his senior year, he ranked fifth among NCAA Division I rebounders and was named to the all-Western Athletic Conference defensive team.
Then came the next fork
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in Jackson's early adulthood. He was about to go play professional basketball in Europe when the Nevada football coaching staff told him he had a redshirt senior season of eligibility remaining with another sport.
He tried it, finished his degree, got in for about 12 to 13 snaps as a tight end and defensive end, blocked a field goal, deflected a pass, made a tackle.
"Those were my entire college career stats," Jackson said. "It was a hard adjustment for me. I was so green to the game. I was athletic, but it was having that aggression, being physical and having football smarts. Knowing where to be. It was difficult to catch on to those things."
Destiny changed again when Nevada arranged a pro day for NFL scouts with several of its senior players. Jackson ran, jumped and lifted some numbers so stunning, they caught the attention of NFL scouts who weren't in attendance. Cleveland Browns defensive line coach Andre Patterson wasn't there, but he had a good friend, a Nevada coach, who was.
Patterson, who has since joined Denver's staff, and Jackson have been linked since, as are so many other former Browns/current Broncos defensive linemen.
Jackson eventually made it to Europe, only this time to play football in 2004 for Frankfurt (Germany). He had 9 1/2 sacks in 10 games. One official pro season, one NFL Europe defensive MVP trophy.
"We all thought he was going to make it in the NBA," said Dedera Jackson, Corey's sister. "But I guess God had a different plan for him."
Goodbye, basketball
With the Broncos this season, Jackson, who is now 6-7 and 265 pounds, figures to begin the season as a third-down end, with newly signed free agent Kenard Lang lined up on the other side. If Jackson develops as the Broncos think he will, he will be more than a third-down rusher by season's end.
"I know I could play basketball, but at the end of the day I wanted to do something where I would have a chance to be great at something," Jackson said. "Basketball, I was a good player, a role player, a banger.
"I feel this is an opportunity where I can stand out."
Reaching the quarterback was an issue for the Broncos last season, when they recorded a mere 28 sacks. Only the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland had fewer.
The sack problem has stirred some pleas for the Broncos to select a pass-rusher within the first two rounds of the draft April 29, but that's probably not going to happen.
In Jackson, the Broncos believe they have found a talent the draft can't offer.
Article Launched: 04/09/2006 1:00 AM MDT
denver broncos
Jackson tackling change in career
Former basketball player a developing defensive end
By Mike Klis
Denver Post Staff Writer
In their annual search for better talent, the Broncos are counting all the usual resources.
Free agency. The draft. Waiver wire. Practice squad. Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart?
If there is one message the Broncos wish their public could better understand, it is that there always are places outside the norm to find talented players. Always.
Last September, as the Broncos were catching guff for their decision to draft Maurice Clarett with the last pick in the third round, they quietly signed a big, left-handed, former basketball player in Corey Jackson.
A defensive end Broncos fans soon may regard as the man who replaced Trevor Pryce, Jackson came from nowhere and everywhere.
"One of the things we take great pride in is the development of what you might call the peripheral player," Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist said.
To strengthen their receiving corps, the Broncos are counting not on Terrell Owens but David Terrell, a former first-round draft pick plucked from the released heap last year.
To help replace the void of departed free-agent running back Mike Anderson, the Broncos will take a long look at Cedric Cobbs, whom they slotted as a second-rounder in the draft two years ago and put on their practice squad last year after signing him as a free agent.
Ranger to the rescue
As for Jackson, it can be safely stated his route to the NFL would throw MapQuest into a directional glitch. Let's go back to Jackson's high school graduation day in 1997 and his hometown of Cassatt, S.C. (pop. 4,412). At that point, Jackson was several ZIP codes outside the periphery.
A basketball player who never played varsity football, Jackson couldn't get a college coach to watch him play basketball, either, much less offer a scholarship. Figuring it was time to get on with life, he worked two jobs that summer, one at Wal-Mart, the other in a factory.
"Back-breaking work," Jackson said. "I just decided I didn't want to kill myself like that."
He had a cousin who was going to play football at a junior college in Ranger, Texas. Ranger is a rural town of about 2,500 citizens. His back aching, Jackson cold-called the Ranger basketball coach, Todd Neighbors.
Having received dozens of such calls previously, Neighbors told Jackson to mail him a tape. Jackson didn't have one, but he's nothing if not resourceful. He made the 1,157-mile bus trip from Cassatt to a town just outside Ranger.
"It's the first day of class and I get a call in my office," Neighbors said. "He says, 'Coach, this is Corey Jackson.' And I said, 'Who?"'
Once Neighbors gently chided Jackson about the missing tape, the caller said he was down at the bus stop and needed a ride.
"I said, 'I'll pick you up, but if you're not 6-8, I'm going to leave you there,"' Neighbors said.
At 6-feet-6, Jackson was close enough to earn a lift. Neighbors arranged for a team pickup game and on the first play, Jackson dunked. He had a junior college scholarship.
"It was do or die," said Jackson, 27. "I either make the team or I go back to South Carolina."
Noticed at Nevada
Jackson eventually brought his lunch-bucket style to the University of Nevada. In his senior year, he ranked fifth among NCAA Division I rebounders and was named to the all-Western Athletic Conference defensive team.
Then came the next fork
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
in Jackson's early adulthood. He was about to go play professional basketball in Europe when the Nevada football coaching staff told him he had a redshirt senior season of eligibility remaining with another sport.
He tried it, finished his degree, got in for about 12 to 13 snaps as a tight end and defensive end, blocked a field goal, deflected a pass, made a tackle.
"Those were my entire college career stats," Jackson said. "It was a hard adjustment for me. I was so green to the game. I was athletic, but it was having that aggression, being physical and having football smarts. Knowing where to be. It was difficult to catch on to those things."
Destiny changed again when Nevada arranged a pro day for NFL scouts with several of its senior players. Jackson ran, jumped and lifted some numbers so stunning, they caught the attention of NFL scouts who weren't in attendance. Cleveland Browns defensive line coach Andre Patterson wasn't there, but he had a good friend, a Nevada coach, who was.
Patterson, who has since joined Denver's staff, and Jackson have been linked since, as are so many other former Browns/current Broncos defensive linemen.
Jackson eventually made it to Europe, only this time to play football in 2004 for Frankfurt (Germany). He had 9 1/2 sacks in 10 games. One official pro season, one NFL Europe defensive MVP trophy.
"We all thought he was going to make it in the NBA," said Dedera Jackson, Corey's sister. "But I guess God had a different plan for him."
Goodbye, basketball
With the Broncos this season, Jackson, who is now 6-7 and 265 pounds, figures to begin the season as a third-down end, with newly signed free agent Kenard Lang lined up on the other side. If Jackson develops as the Broncos think he will, he will be more than a third-down rusher by season's end.
"I know I could play basketball, but at the end of the day I wanted to do something where I would have a chance to be great at something," Jackson said. "Basketball, I was a good player, a role player, a banger.
"I feel this is an opportunity where I can stand out."
Reaching the quarterback was an issue for the Broncos last season, when they recorded a mere 28 sacks. Only the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland had fewer.
The sack problem has stirred some pleas for the Broncos to select a pass-rusher within the first two rounds of the draft April 29, but that's probably not going to happen.
In Jackson, the Broncos believe they have found a talent the draft can't offer.