Rashawn Lamont Jackson was born January 15, 1987 – Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday – in Jersey City, New Jersey where he quickly established himself as a standout Pop Warner and high school football player. Jackson was a formidable fullback while playing high school ball at St. Peter’s Prep. His school won the conference championship all four years while Rashawn was manning the field for coach Rich Hansen. Jackson was named the Newark Star-Ledger’s Player of the Year as a senior when he led the entire country in scoring with 150 points on 25 touchdowns. It should be mentioned that the young Rashawn managed this amazing scoring feat while sharing the ball carrying duties. He averaged 938 yards on 91 carries in his senior season of high school.

Jackson was a Scout 3 Star player and the 46th ranked player at his position heading into the 2005 college recruiting class season. He had offers from the University of Virginia, Boston College, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and and Tennessee. Interestingly the only school he made an official visit to during his senior season was Nebraska. Jackson was a sought after player and he had to choose where he would attend college and play college football. It was the biggest decision of his young life.