Ex-Cal Star DeSean Jackson Tops Michael Vick in HBCU Showdown

DeSean Jackson continues to surprise and impress.

The one-time Cal football star and NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver/return specialist, claimed his highest-profile victory yet in his debut season as head coach at Delaware State.

His Hornets toppled Norfolk State 27-20 on Thursday night in a coaching matchup of Jackson and former NFL teammate Michael Vick, now both leading traditional HBCU programs.

“I'm just proud of, man, both of us,” Jackson said, according to ESPN. “We're in a position where we're inspiring, changing young men's lives at HBCUs. Man, it don't get no better than that.”

Jackson had never been a head coach before being hired this year by Delaware State, a school with 6,500 student that was founded in 1891. The Hornets, 1-11 last season, are 6-3 under Jackson and 2-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, where they hadn’t won a game since 2022.

Jackson played three seasons (2005-07) at Cal, catching 162 passes for 2,423 yards with 22 touchdowns. He also scored six TDs on punt returns, earning consensus All-America honors as a return specialist as a sophomore.

A second-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2008 NFL draft, Jackson was a three-time Pro Bowl selection during his 15-year pro career.

Jackson and Vick, a former Pro Bowl quarterback, were teammates with the Eagles from 2009 through ’13. Thursday night’s game was played at Philadelphia on Lincoln Financial Field, where the two helped the Eagles win the 2019 NFC East title.

“I never thought I’d look across the field and watch him coach,” Vick told ESPN. “I know vice versa for him. It was just a really cool moment, a surreal moment. You just never know what life is going to put in front of you.”

For Jackson, 38, the evening ended with his players hoisting him on their shoulders and carrying him off the field.

Just stepping on the field before the game was meaningful to Jackson. “Man, just the energy when I walked on the field, smelling the grass, it just went through my veins,” he said.

Among those on hand for the game was Jackson’s ex-Cal teammate Marshawn Lynch, who also went on to a successful NFL career.

Jackson acknowledged the night was special.

“We had (eight) games before this,” he said, “and every game, it was hard not to think about this game.”

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