Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Time and space do not allow us to retrace the long and winding road Fred Jackson ’03 took to NFL stardom. From backup running back at Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas, to
Iowa Conference MVP at Coe to the Sioux City Bandits in the United Indoor Football League to Rhein Fire in NFL Europe and, finally, to the Buffalo Bills, Fred’s story is well documented. Tonight we honor Fred’s Hall of Fame worthy career on the Kohawk football and track teams.
Fred was the first two-time recipient of the Barron Bremner Outstanding Athlete Award and a seven-time All-American between football and track. He was named the
Iowa Conference’s Most Valuable Player in football his junior and senior years.
He graduated as the third leading rusher in Coe history with 4,054 career yards and is third all-time in rushing touchdowns with 47. He ran for 1,702 yards and scored 29 touchdowns his senior year while leading Coe to its first
Iowa Conference Championship.
In track, Fred was a two-time All-American as a member of the 4x100-meter relay team, which finished fifth at the NCAA Championships in 2002 and 2003. Fred, his brother, Patrick, Trey Tyner and Milton Lanier set the school record with a 41.26 at the 2003 national meet. That record still stands, along with the 1:29.98 time in the indoor 4x200-meter relay the foursome recorded in 2002. He earned All-
Iowa Conference honors for that event in the 2003 indoor season.
Fred and his wife, Danielle Allen Jackson ’05, live in Ankeny, Iowa. His twin brother, college teammate and roommate, and fellow sociology major who took every class together at Coe, is now his neighbor.
