Tarvaris Jackson
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| Tarvaris Jackson | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | April 21, 1983 |
| Place of birth | Montgomery, AL |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| College | Alabama State |
| NFL Draft | 2006 / Round 2 / Pick 64 |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2006-Present | Minnesota Vikings |
Tarvaris Jackson (born April 21, 1983 in Montgomery, Alabama) is a current American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the first Alabama State University quarterback drafted into the NFL since Ricky Jones in 1992.
His pick in the 2006 NFL Draft caused some surprise since he was the first Division I-AA pick of the draft (the last quarterback drafted from his division was Spergon Wynn in 2000). He was picked in the 2nd round (64th overall) when he was projected to go much later in the 4th-7th rounds, and the Vikings used two 3rd round picks to get the 2nd round pick with which they drafted Jackson (fearing he may get picked sooner than anticipated). Even Jackson was surprised by the pick saying, "I was more focused on [getting drafted in] the third round and even that was stretching it". Most pre-draft publications didn't even have him listed as one of the top 10 eligible quarterbacks, while he was the 5th selected.
Vikings coach Brad Childress was quoted days before the draft as saying he was interested in finding a "developmental guy", a "diamond in the rough" quarterback of the future, raw talent he could teach a system to. Both new coach Childress and Vikings veteran quarterback Brad Johnson have had a lot of success developing quarterbacks in the past - A.J. Feeley and Donovan McNabb owe a lot of their success to Childress, and Chris Simms says Johnson was the best tutor he's ever had. The use of two 3rd round picks showed how much they felt Tarvaris was the guy they wanted to develop. Jackson's quarterback coach at Alabama State, Reggie Barlow, played wide receiver with Brad Johnson at Tampa Bay so Tarvaris had been looking forward to learning from him.
Jackson played in the more competitive Division I-A during the 2001 season and part of 2002 while attending the University of Arkansas. A shoulder injuries kept him from being a full time starter and when it was decided Matt Jones would start at quarterback instead of him, he transferred to the less competitive Division I-AA at the historically black college Alabama State where each season his performance steadily improved. During Jackson's senior year, he amassed 2,655 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions with a 61.1% completion rate (although he did not face very tough competition). The Vikings scouting and personnel had reportedly been watching him closely in secret over his senior season, particularly liking his performance in the East-West Shrine Game. They were also impressed by his workout at the scouting combine (among the top-5 quarterbacks in ball speed and 40 yard dash). Several NFL teams including the Vikings had arranged secret workouts with him too.
The day after the draft Vikings coach Childress was quoted by the St. Paul Pioneer Press as saying: "I think you judge quarterbacks a little bit differently...When you see what you want at the quarterback position, you need to go get it. And that's exactly what I see with Tarvaris Jackson is a guy that's a piece of clay, that has all the skills in terms of, No. 1, what's he look like throwing the football?...He's got a great throwing motion; he's athletic. He has all those things that we're looking for, and he's wired right. That's important for a quarterback. I think he's a flatline guy. I think he's a sponge. You're talking about a guy that never had a coach there as a quarterback coach. So what can he do with coaching?" Jackson's agent, Joel Segal, said: "After the draft, there were two clubs that expressed disappointment and were mad they didn't get him. They were planning to take (Jackson) very high in the third round, and were lamenting the fact that the Vikings beat them".
On July 26, 2006, Jackson signed a four year deal with Minnesota, including a $1 million signing bonus.[4]
Jackson's 2006 pre-season passer rating was 106.1, 15th in the league out of 110 quarterbacks who performed. Only one quarterback from his draft class (Jay Cutler) did better. He also showed great scrambling skills averaging 11.3 yards in rushing (the only Viking other than Brad Johnson to average more than 3.3 yards in rushing). ESPN analyst Mike Tirico referred to Jackson as a right handed Michael Vick. His pre-season performance was enough to surpass 2nd and 3rd string QBs Mike McMahon and J.T. O'Sullivan on the depth chart. After the pre-season, McMahon and O'Sullivan were cut from the team and Brooks Bollinger was brought in, who Jackson will be competing against for the number two spot.
Tarvaris Jackson's name is commonly misspelled as 'Tavaris' or 'Tavarius'. Jackson's current jersey is number 7.
On September 25, 2006, Tarvaris Jackson had minor knee surgery to repair his meniscus and is supposed to miss 4-6 weeks. He returned to limited practice after two weeks, and then came back to play his first NFL game with the Minnesota Vikings in week 13 against the Chicago Bears\[5]
[edit] Notes and References
- ↑ Jackson's Reaction. Jackson's reaction after getting drafted.
- ↑ Childress Quotes before draft. Childress quotes before the draft.
- ↑ Childress Quotes after draft. Childress quotes after the draft.
Tarvaris Jackson is also known as purple drink.
[edit] External Links
- NFL.com Draft Prospect Profile of Tarvaris Jackson Scouting report of Jackson written up by JR Scouting LLC on NFL.com
