Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tarvaris Jackson tragically passed away at the young age of 36 on the evening of April 12, 2020. Jackson, also known as T-Jack by family, friends and fans, was nine days away from celebrating his 37th birthday. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Enter Jackson’s early years: It’s 2011, and the Seattle Seahawks have not finished the season with a winning record in over four years. On this day, there is hope in Seattle, as the Seahawks have just arrived home from a road trip to New York with a convincing 36-25 upset victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants.
Sitting at his locker with an abnormally large pack of ice around his chest and back is quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. He tore his pectoral muscle during the game, an injury that typically takes around six months to heal. Jackson only missed one game before returning to action.
This is his first year as a member of the Seahawks and he has already been voted as team captain by his teammates.
The captain is approached by his fullback, Michael Robinson, who asks Jackson what his plans are for the team’s upcoming bye week. He ponders for a moment before Robinson offers a suggestion.
“You gonna take any speech classes?” jokes the fullback.
“Nah, I don’t need those, dog,” replies the soft-spoken leader with a smirk on his face.
“Can’t nobody understand you in the huddle, man,” Robinson continued.
“It’s that country grammar man, you’ll get used to it,” Jackson responded, now smiling from ear to ear.
“Lemme ask you something, do they teach country grammar in school?” Robinson pressed on.
Jackson paused for a moment before he burst out laughing.
“Yes,” he confidently responded while sharing a laugh with his close teammate.
The quarterback grew up in a rural area of Montgomery, Alabama. Locally, he was regarded as a legend.
It was important to Jackson that he became a role model in the community that raised him. He commonly held camps for kids throughout the summer and took time to make surprise visits home during his NFL seasons.
After putting together an impressive high school football resume, Jackson continued his football career at Alabama State University.
Jackson became the most storied signal-caller in the university’s history and led the Hornets to only their second 10-win season in school history, winning Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship Game MVP in the process.
After three historic seasons at Alabama State, the Minnesota Vikings traded both of their third-round picks for a second-round pick so that they could draft Jackson.
Jackson was officially selected 64th overall in the second round of the 2006 draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Head Coach Brad Childress planned for Jackson to spend his rookie campaign learning from veteran starter Brad Johnson.
The Vikings struggled with Johnson at the helm and fell into a 26-7 hole during a Week 15 game against the visiting Jets. The crowd chanted “we want Jackson” throughout the second half, and in the fourth quarter they got their wish.
Jackson threw his first career touchdown pass, a 35-yarder, to Mewelde Moore and totaled 177 yards passing during the final quarter.
After the game, Jackson was named the starter for the remainder of his rookie season.
During his second season, Jackson led the 2007 Vikings to an 8-4 record while the team went winless when he missed games due to injury.
In 2008, the Vikings headed into Week 17 with a 9-6 record. With a win, they would clinch their division and with a loss, they would miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
They trailed the defending Super Bowl champion Giants 19-10 with less than 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Jackson launched a pass deep down the left sideline complete for a 54-yard touchdown to Bernard Berrian as the Vikings crept closer, making it 19-17 with 9:35 remaining.
The Vikings defense forced a missed field goal and Jackson got the ball back with 3:17 to go. He converted on two crucial third downs and led the Vikings into field goal range setting up Ryan Longwell to split the uprights with no time remaining, giving the Vikings a 20-19 victory and their first postseason appearance since 2008, facing the Eagles.
In his first career playoff start, Jackson was body-slammed by defensive end and future Seahawks teammate Chris Clemons. The hit left the quarterback visibly shaken, yet he fought on.
Without missing a snap, the signal-caller trailed the Eagles 16-14 midway through the final quarter, but when Eagles tailback Brian Westbrook broke off a 71-yard touchdown with 6:37 left, the game was put out of reach.
The following season, the Vikings signed Hall of Famer Brett Favre. Teammates and coaches alike described Jackson’s handling of the situation as class personified, and felt that his ability to be the ultimate team guy could not be overlooked.
After spending 2009 and 2010 behind the NFL legend, Jackson’s contract expired and he was ready to explore free agency.
Jackson signed a two-year deal in 2011 with the Seattle Seahawks to become their starter.
In his first win as a Seahawk, Jackson led a 72-yard game-winning touchdown drive which included an incredible 3rd and 15 conversion to a rookie Doug Baldwin.
Trailing 10-6, Seattle was 11 yards away from the endzone and the lead. Jackson dropped back to pass, and after dancing around in the pocket for a moment he rolled out left and took off. He passed the line of scrimmage and met three Cardinal defenders head-on.
He cut left and made all three miss. As he sped towards the goal line, two more defenders violently approached Jackson. The quarterback went airborne as he crossed the plane, all while being sandwiched by a linebacker to his left and a defensive back to his right.
The crowd gasped at what looked to be a painful hit, but Jackson popped right with a smile on his face knowing he just secured Seattle’s 13-10 victory.
Jackson finished the 2011 season with seven wins, the most for a Seattle quarterback since Matt Hasselbeck in 2007.
During the third round of the 2012 draft, the Seahawks selected quarterback Russell Wilson. While Wilson came into training camp slated to be the third-string quarterback, he shocked everybody and played his way into the starting spot for Week 1.
Jackson was subsequently traded to Buffalo in an
effort for Seattle to save money. He played zero snaps for the Bills in 2012. Jackson later reflected on this season as a “paid vacation” from what he considered to be his second home, Seattle.
In 2013, Jackson joined the Seahawks again, but this time for good. From 2013 to 2015, Jackson made numerous relief appearances for Wilson during blowout victories, which were always met with thunderous ovations from the crowd.
The most notable of these for the beloved Seahawk came in Super Bowl 48.
Not only did the little boy from Alabama achieve his dreams of becoming a Super Bowl champion, he actually got to play in the game too. To this day, Jackson remains the only backup quarterback to appear in the Super Bowl within the past 20 years.
But Jackson served as more than a backup during his second go-around with Seattle. He became the designated coin toss caller for the team. Coach Pete Carroll even sent him out to face five opponents on his own.
He never lost. Through three seasons, Jackson won every coin toss he went out for, none of which were more important than his win over the Packers in the 2014 NFC Championship game which helped send the Seahawks to their second consecutive Super Bowl.
Following the 2015 season, Seattle’s good luck charm retired from the game of football to spend time with his family in Alabama.
In 2018, Jackson returned to his alma mater to become the quarterback coach for Alabama State University. Here, Jackson coached former teammate Frank Clark’s younger brother, Christian Clark. The older Clark thanked Jackson for “keeping an eye out” and “filling a role he’d always wanted”.
The following season, Jackson joined the Tennessee State coaching staff, making a significant impact on the roster’s younger players.
“Rest in Peace to a Legend where I’m from. Paved the way for us young people & did everything the right way. Can’t thank you enough for what you did for the community,” said current Cleveland Browns linebacker and Montgomery, Alabama native Mack Wilson in an Instagram caption.
Former teammate B.J. Daniels said that instead of spending holidays alone in Seattle, Jackson would always invite him over to celebrate with his family. Daniels also referred to Jackson as a mentor.
Former Coach Pete Carroll described Jackson as “a beloved teammate, competitor and Seahawk.”
Former teammate Doug Baldwin credited Jackson for teaching him “how to serve.”
Jackson was a family man that cared deeply about his impact and the betterment of his community. On the field, he was inspirational, tough as nails and extraordinarily selfless.
May Tavaris Jackson rest in peace.
Photo Courtesy of Otto Grevel Jr.
