Tarvaris Jackson
Tarvaris Fox Jackson (born April 21, 1983 in Montgomery) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks. He played college football at Alabama State and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2006 NFL Draft.
NFL
Jackson was selected with the last pick in the 2nd round (64th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft, though he had been projected for a 4th-7th round pick. He was the 5th quarterback taken and the 1st Division I-AA player selected. He was the first quarterback from Alabama State to be drafted into the NFL since Ricky Jones in 1992. On July 26, 2006, Jackson signed a four year deal with Minnesota, including a $1 million signing bonus.
Vikings coach Brad Childress had been interested in finding a "diamond in the rough" quarterback of the future, a raw talent to whom he and starter Brad Johnson could teach his offensive system. Childress praised Jackson's throwing motion and athleticism. His preseason work placed him at number two on the Vikings' depth chart, alongside newly-signed backup Brooks Bollinger. Mike McMahon and J. T. O'Sullivan were cut from the roster.
Jackson underwent minor knee surgery to repair his meniscus. He debuted for the Vikings in the 4th quarter of a week 13 match-up against the Chicago Bears. He returned two weeks later against the New York Jets and scored his first touchdown with a pass to running back Mewelde Moore. He finished with 177 yard passing, 20 yards rushing, one touchdown and one interception. He was named the starter for the following game at Green Bay. The offense amassed only 27 yards passing, converted only three first downs, never reached the red zone, and failed to score in a 9-7 defeat in the cold rain. Nevertheless, Jackson kept the starting job for the rest of the season.
In 2007 Jackson went 8-4 as a starter, averaging 159 yards per game with 9 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for an offense paced by star running back Adrian Peterson. Opposing defenses stacked the line against the run, sometimes dropping only two or three defenders into coverage. In the final regular season game against the Denver Broncos, Jackson did lead to fourth-quarter scoring drives to get to overtime, but fumbled on the second play to give Denver the win.
In 2008 the Vikings improved their overall roster, trading for Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen and adding free agents Bernard Berrian and Madieu Williams to a line-up with seven Pro Bowl players. Childress was counting on Jackson's improvement as a passer, and signed Gus Frerotte as his backup. Jackson injured his knee in the preseason, but was on the field for the first game, which closed with a interception. After another loss to Indianapolis in week 2, Childress benched Jackson.
Jackson returned in week 14 when Frerotte was injured. Starting the second half, he completed 8 of 10 passes for 105 yards and a game-winning touchdown against the Detroit Lions. He started against the Arizona Cardinals a week later and went 11-17 for 163 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week and FedEx Air Player of the Week honors. In week 16, Jackson went 22-36 for 233 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for another 76 yards in a 24-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The Vikings won the NFC North division with a comeback victory over the New York Giants in week 17. Their season ended, however, with a loss to Philadelphia in the first round.
The Vikings quarterback situation got more complicated leading up to the start of the 2009 season with the signing of Sage Rosenfels and on-again off-again negotiations with retired Packers star Brett Favre. Jackson and Rosenfels were in competition for the starting job when Favre officially signed on August 19. Backing up Favre in the next game, Jackson threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and was kept on the roster.
Favre and Jackson both returned on one-year contracts in 2010. Jackson got the start on December 12, breaking Favre's 297-game streak of not missing a start. Jackson injured his toe during the game, and was replaced by former UAB Blazers quarterback Joe Webb.
Career statistics
College
| Year | Team | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Comp | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2001 | ARK | 9 | 3 | 33.3 | 53 | 5.89 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2002 | ARK | 39 | 14 | 35.9 | 143 | 3.67 | 1 | 2 | 14 | -16 | -1.1 | 0 |
| 2003 | ASU | 261 | 135 | 51.7 | 1,984 | 7.60 | 18 | 9 | 92 | 454 | 4.9 | 5 |
| 2004 | ASU | 350 | 183 | 52.3 | 2,562 | 7.32 | 20 | 9 | 67 | 215 | 3.2 | 3 |
| 2005 | ASU | 296 | 181 | 61.1 | 2,655 | 8.97 | 25 | 5 | 95 | 271 | 2.9 | 3 |
| Total | 955 | 516 | 54 | 7,397 | 6.69 | 64 | 26 | 275 | 938 | 2.38 | 11 | |
References
- Tarvaris Jackson. (2010, August 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 02:30, August 19, 2010 [1]
- Borzi, Pat (August 18, 2010) "Favre Returns to Vikings." The New York Times
- Irvine, Steve (December 18, 2010) "Joe Webb is battling nerves while preparing for his first NFL start." The Birmingham News
External links
- Tarvaris Jackson at NFL.com