• Complete Athlon Sports FCS All-American Team
Jacksonville State senior defensive end
Darius Jackson has been named to the 2017 Athlon Sports FCS All-American Team.
It marked the seventh first-team All-American honor of the season for Jackson who was also selected by the Associated Press, Phil Steele, STATS, AFCA, HERO Sports and Walter Camp.
Jackson, one of three finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season. During the regular season, he ranked fourth nationally in tackles-for-loss (1.7/game), 19th in forced fumbles/game (0.27) and 47th in sacks (0.64). Overall the senior tallied 51 tackles, 19.0 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks, 19 quarterback hurries, 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumbles recoveries in 11 regular season games (he added four tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss during JSU's playoff game). When including his playoff numbers, his 20.5 TFL set a new JSU single-season record and pushed his school career record to 60.5. He had at least one TFL in 11 of 12 games and a sack in six different contests. He was the leader for the OVC champion Gamecocks team that ranked second nationally in total defense (230.5 yards/game) during the regular season.