Tarvaris Jackson

About Tarvaris Jackson

Tarvaris Jackson (born April 21, 1983 in Montgomery, Alabama) is the current starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He was the first Alabama State University quarterback drafted into the NFL since Ricky Jones in 1992.

Jackson played in I-A during the 2001 season and part of 2002 while attending the University of Arkansas. A shoulder injury kept him from starting full time and when it was decided Matt Jones would start at quarterback instead of him, he transferred to Alabama State University, a historically black Division I-AA institution in his hometown of Montgomery. During Jackson's senior year, he amassed 2,655 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions with a 61.1% completion rate. Jackson has been given several nicknames such as T-Jack. In three seasons at Alabama State, Jackson completed 537 of 985 attempts for 7,838 yards, with 67 touchdown passes and 27 interceptions. In the combine, NFL scouts marveled at his arm strength and mobility.

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. Jackson was selected with the last pick in the 2nd round (64th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft, while he was projected to go much later in the 4th-7th rounds. The Vikings traded two 3rd round picks to get the 2nd round pick with which they drafted Jackson, fearing he may get picked sooner than anticipated. Jackson's early selection caused some surprise as he was the 5th quarterback taken and the 1st Division I-AA player selected (the last I-AA quarterback drafted was Spergon Wynn in 2000). 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. On 26 July 2006, Jackson signed a four year deal with Minnesota, including a $1 million signing bonus.