Jackson played college football for the Florida Gators, and was a member of a national championship team.
[4] In football, he played a variety of positions including fullback, strong safety, linebacker and tailback.
Jackson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's Gators football teams from 1995 to 1998.
[4] The Gators coaching staff redshirted him when he was a true freshman in 1994, and he converted from strong safety to tailback to help meet the needs of the team in 1995, and memorably ran for 138 yards and three touchdowns against the Kentucky Wildcats.
[5] Jackson was also as an SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree all four years, and was the recipient of an NCAA post-graduate scholarship.