[1] He was a three-year starter at football powerhouse Hoover High School in Birmingham, where he recorded 202 receptions for 3,553 yards and forty touchdowns.

[2] His high school career ended with a 41–3 record and two Alabama Class 6A championships, and he was recognized as a Parade magazine prep All-American.

[2] He tied the Gators team record for receptions in a single season with eighty-eight, and led the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

[2] Following his junior season, Jackson declared that he would forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility and enter the NFL draft.

[7] Jackson missed the entire 2006 preseason with a hamstring injury;[8] his first NFL game was in Week 2 of the 2006 season against the New York Jets, in which he caught two passes for a total of 42 yards; one of those was a 13-yard touchdown.

In the 2006 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts, Jackson suffered a torn ACL and was placed on the Patriots' physically unable to perform (PUP) list prior to the 2007 season.