Deion Jackson: Legend in the Making (NCAA08)

[SHaynes23]

Deion Jackson grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois. The Eastside as they know it as is a less than desirable place to grow up. The crime rates are through the roof, and you can't even walk down the street without worrying about something bad happening to you. Deion was raised by a single mother and is an only child, and his mother knew that it was in her son's best interest to get him out of this situation, but no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to give Deion a better situation than what he had currently. Deion knew that his mother would give up her own life for him to be happy, so he was very grateful for that and promised that he would return that gesture and take care of her one day.

From a very young age Deion and his family all knew that he had a gift. That gift was football. His crazy Uncle Earl always took him down to the city park where they would throw the ball around, and even though Uncle Earl couldn't see too well out of one good eye and one eye that had a mind of his own, he could see that Deion could run like the wind and caught anything and everything thrown in his direction. Uncle Earl played a little bit of football back in the day so he taught Deion everything he knew by the time he was twelve, and it paid off because everytime teams were picked for football Deion was always the first choice.

Around eighth grade Deion was approached by the high school coach, Coach Hagans, to play football for the local powerhouse, the East St. Louis Flyers. The Flyers were known as a team that would air the ball out at any given opportunity, which was something that fit Deion's playing style perfectly. As soon as he entered high school Deion hit a growth spurt and started playing for East St. Louis's junior varsity team, where he was very succesful.



When Deion's sophomore year rolled around, he was ready to be called up to the varsity team, where he excelled on special teams and spent alot of time as the school's slot reciever, where he excelled along side two seniors who had the potential to go to D-1 schools, but not the grades. The team came up short in the state playoffs in the early stages against the always dangerous Alton team. He then made it his goal to make the state championship some day and play the state championship at the home of his favorite team, the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Deion's junior year rolled around, and he was the big man on campus. He was now the team's undisputed number one reciever, and he was primed for a year of a lifetime, but there was one small problem, the team's quarterback went down in the summer Jamboree and the backup had the arm of a seventh grader. This lead to a ton of catches for Jackson, but not alot of yards or touchdowns, which was a letdown to many Flyer fans. The team didn't even come close to the playoffs that year, and Deion's dream of making the state playoffs quickly started to dwindle.



His senior season came along though and it was a time of new hope for Deion. He was getting letters from local colleges wanting him to join their teams, but Deion kept his options open because he knew he was poised for a breakout season with his quarterback in full health again, and he knew the division one schools would come crawling. Deion then proceeded to put together one of the finest seasons that anybody at East St. Louis could remember. The type of buzz surrounding him matched that of Darius Miles at East St. Louis in his senior basketball season, one in which he jumped to the NBA.

D-1 schools started calling Deion like he hoped about mid-season, and he realized that this could be the way to get himself and his mom out of East St. Louis and make their lives much easier if he got a good education, or even went to the NFL. The regular season recently came to an end, and East St. Louis has a made a return appearance to the playoffs, and in the first round they would be taking on Danville, a team from the complete other side of the state. Deion has vowed to make these playoffs his launching pad to stardom, and his story starts here......