Fred Jackson (running back)

Frederick George Jackson (born February 20, 1981) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Coe Kohawks. After going undrafted in 2003 and playing two indoor football seasons and later in NFL Europe, Jackson spent nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills, becoming their third all-time leading rusher. In the 2015 season, he was the oldest active running back in the NFL.

Jackson attended Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas, where he played football. Although he was a member of the powerful Lamar Vikings teams of the late 1990s, he never started a game in his two years on the varsity team because he was considered too small (5 ft 8 in, 160 pounds) and too slow. He began his senior year as a third-string running back, and only after a knee injury to starter Justin Faust (headed to Stanford), was he elevated to second-string behind Tommicus Walker (headed to TCU).

Also a standout sprinter, Jackson was a state-qualifier in the 100 meters and recorded a time of 21.78 seconds as a member of the Lamar 4 × 100 m relay squad, breaking the previous record.

During his senior year, 14 of his teammates signed letters of intent to play college football, but he did not receive any offers. Instead, Wayne Phillips, his Nichols Junior High School football coach, arranged for him and his brother to enroll into Coe College, a Division III school that does not offer athletic scholarships.

At Coe College, Jackson was named to four All-American teams in 2002, rushing for 2,702 yards and 29 touchdowns. He was a two-time Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference MVP for the Kohawks. He was also the MVP of the 2003 Stars Bowl. He graduated in 2003 with a degree in sociology.

After trying out for the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers, he went on to play indoor football for the Sioux City Bandits. Jackson played two seasons for the Bandits in the National Indoor Football League (2004) and United Indoor Football (2005). He was named the 2005 UIF co-MVP in 2005; in 18 games he ran for 1,770 yards and scored 53 touchdowns (40 rushing, 11 pass receiving and 2 on kick returns). During this time, he also worked as a youth counselor at Boys & Girls Home Family Services to make ends meet. His jersey number was retired by the Bandits in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

While with the Bandits in 2004, Jackson's childhood home in Arlington, Texas, was torn down to make way for Cowboys Stadium, which replaced Texas Stadium as the home of the Dallas Cowboys in 2009. Jackson played in his former neighborhood on November 13, 2011, when the Bills faced the Cowboys.

Jackson played in NFL Europa for the Rhein Fire in 2006, leading the team with 731 rushing yards.