Jackson to play

in Senoir Bowl
From staff reports

MOBILE, Ala. — Former Appalachian State receiver Dexter Jackson has had a busy postseason.

Fresh off an solid appearance in the East-West Shrine Game, Jackson has been invited to participate in the prestigious Under Armour Senior Bowl this week. Kickoff is Saturday at 3 p.m. at sold-out Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile. The game will be televised live on the NFL Network.

Jackson is Appalachian’s first representative in the 59-year history of the Senior Bowl. It is the nation’s premier pre-NFL Draft event, annually featuring the country’s best senior collegiate football players and top draft prospects on teams representing the North and South. More than 800 NFL coaches attended Wednesday’s practice sessions.

The 5-10, 180-pound wide receiver from Dunwoody, Ga. is one of just six Division I Football Championship Subdivision players in the game’s 104 participants. Jackson’s teammates on the South squad, which is coached by San Fran-cisco 49ers Mike Nolan and his staff, include an impressive group of quarterbacks, including Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan from Hawaii, Tennessee’s Erik Ainge and Kentucky’s Andre Woodson.

The North team includes a quartet of individuals that have already seen Jackson’s prowess from the opposite sideline — quarterback Chad Henne, linebacker Shawn Crable and defensive back Jamar Adams of Michigan. Jackson scored two touchdowns against the Wolverines in the Mountaineers’ 34-32 victory Sept. 1.

Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco, who Jackson and the Mountaineers beat 49-21, to win their third-straight FCS national championship in December, will also play.

The game is the second in as many weeks for Jackson, who caught two passes for a team-high 38 yards in last Saturday’s East-West Shrine Game in Houston.

Jackson caught 30 passes for 688 yards and eight touchdowns. The 68-yarder he caught and scored on against Michigan was his longest of the season.

Appalachian will also be represented on the all-star game circuit by offensive lineman Kerry Brown and defensive back Corey Lynch, who will participate in the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Challenge on Feb. 2 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

Both players were FCS All-Americans this year. Brown won the SoCon’s Jacobs Blocking Award given to the leagues’ top lineman.