Chad Wolfegang Jackson (born March 6, 1985) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played college football for the University of Florida. Jackson was drafted by the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft, and also played for the Denver Broncos of the NFL, and the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League (UFL). Early years Jackson was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1985. 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. Jackson also found time to pass and run for twelve more touchdowns and try his hand at free safety. 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. Jackson also played basketball and ran track before concentrating on football as a senior. College career Jackson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Ron Zook and coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football teams from 2003 to 2005. As a junior in 2005, Jackson started eleven games and appeared in all twelve. He tied the Gators team record for receptions in a single season with eighty-eight, and led the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Jackson was a first-team All-SEC selection, an honorable mention All-American, and one of fifteen semi-finalists for the Biletnikoff Award in 2005. His eighty-eight catches went for 900 yards and nine touchdowns, and he also ran for two more rushing touchdowns. Following his junior season, Jackson declared that he would forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility and enter the NFL draft. Professional career Pre-draft New England Patriots On the first day of the 2006 NFL Draft, the Patriots traded draft picks with the Green Bay Packers to move up sixteen places (from the Patriots' 52nd to the Packers' 36th) in the second round to select Jackson, giving up a third-round pick (75th overall) acquired in a trade. Jackson played for the Patriots in and . Jackson missed the entire 2006 preseason with a hamstring injury; his first NFL game was in Week 2 of the 2006 season against the New York Jets, in which he caught two