Football Players With Long Hair: Spotlight On Lamar Jackson

May 2024 · 4 minute read

American footballer, Lamar Demeatrice Jackson was born on January 7th 1997 to Felicia Jones and Lamar Jackson Sr. in Atlanta, Georgia. He shares the same father with his two sisters and his younger brother, Jamar Jackson who he spent most of his time with.

Early Life

Lamar Jackson was raised in the heart of a struggling neighborhood in Pompano Beach, Florida. When Jackson was 8 years old, his father passed away from a heart attack on the same day as his grandma in 2005. He and his siblings were brought up by their mother. He attended public schools and participated in Pop Warner football with future teammate Marquise Brown in the same Florida league. Jackson was able to toss a football 20 yards when he was just 8 years old and he also tossed a football 100 yards in high school.

Jackson and his mother are quite close, and she is incredibly proud of how far he has progressed in his football career.

Career

Jackson thrived as a quarterback at Florida’s Boynton Beach High School. Jackson was a productive read-option quarterback at Boynton Beach who was equally adept at running and throwing the ball. He spent hours each week viewing movies to increase his decision-making and passing accuracy. Jackson passed for 2,263 yards, 31 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in two seasons at Boynton Beach. He also had a quarterback rating of 102.7, 1,624 yards, and 22 touchdowns on the ground. In the opening round of the 2014 Florida High School Football Playoff 6A tournament, Jackson’s final high school game was played against a squad from Miami Central High School that was ranked nationally. Jackson threw two interceptions, and Boynton Beach was brutally trounced 49–6. In one track event, he set a personal record of 11.45 seconds in the 100-meter dash while competing for his high school’s track squad. In 2014, Jackson was recognized as the Lou Groza High School Player of the Year for Palm Beach County.

Jackson had a three-star rating from 247Sports and ESPN.com, but a four-star rating from Rivals.com. He earned offers from Power Five colleges including Louisville, Florida, Auburn, and Clemson as well as mid-major programs like Akron, Western Kentucky, and Marshall despite the debate among recruiting firms over his caliber. Jackson was rated as a top 20 dual-threat quarterback by all of the major recruiting firms, with 247Sports placing him as high as #12. Jackson’s in-state rankings also fluctuated significantly, from #51 on Rivals to #80 on ESPN. Jackson only paid a visit to four schools—Louisville, Florida, Nebraska, and Mississippi State—and after it looked as though he might sign with Florida, he chose Louisville instead after head coach Bobby Petrino assured Jackson’s mother that her son would only be playing quarterback and nothing else.

Jackson participated in 12 games and eight starts as a freshman at Louisville in 2015 (he was a communications major). The Cardinals finished the season 8-5. He ran for 960 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns while completing 135 of 247 throws for 1,840 yards, 12 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. After passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for a Music City Bowl record 226 yards and two scores, he was named the game’s MVP.

Jackson declared his intention to participate in the 2018 NFL Draft on January 5, 2018. Although some draft experts questioned Jackson’s quarterback skills and urged that he switch to the wide receiver position because of his athleticism, he steadfastly vowed to play quarterback professionally. During the NFL Scouting Combine, he chose not to participate in drills like the 40-yard dash in order to concentrate on showcasing his passing abilities. According to reports, Jackson ran the 40-yard sprint in 4.34 seconds in 2017 at Louisville, which would have been the fastest time ever for a quarterback in the NFL.

Since his first season, Jackson has been largely considered as the best running quarterback in the NFL. His two-threat approach to the game has led to numerous Michael Vick analogies. With Jackson at the helm, the Ravens have led the league in running every year until his debut campaign. In 2019, the Ravens broke the mark for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season, and Jackson broke Vick’s mark for the same. But when the run game is controlled, questions have been raised about his ability to play as a pure pocket passer. Lamar’s worries about passing started while he was a student at Louisville. Although most commentators have noted improvements in his passing skills over time, he is rarely compared to the league’s top passers.

Personal Life

Lamar Jackson is not married and is currently dating his long-time girlfriend, Jaime Taylor. They have been together since 2017 and have kept the relationship private and away from the media. Early this year, Lamar Jackson gave his fans a glimpse of his private life as he celebrated his daughter, Milan on her birthday in January.

Net Worth

Lamar Jackson’s net worth is estimated to be around $4 million.

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