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Rickey Jackson is an NFL Hall of Famer, a five-time second-team All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowler — and he added college graduate to his impressive resume last week.
On Apr. 30, Jackson was one of 2,500 students to graduate as part of University of Pittsburgh's Class of '23 after completing his degree in social sciences from the College of General Studies, according to the school's official website.
“I was so close to it that it made no sense to not get it,” Jackson told Pittwire while describing his return to academics. “My mother would've loved it, my father wanted me to get it. I know they'd be proud of me.”
It's a great accomplishment for the longtime New Orleans Saints linebacker, and proves that no matter how old you are, education is attainable. Jackson only needed two history courses to finish the degree, and did it online while splitting his time between New Orleans and his hometown of Pahokee, FL.
The accomplishment comes a full 40 years after he left the University of Pittsburgh to enter the NFL Draft.
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He would go on to a sparkling career, playing 15 seasons in the NFL, 13 of them with the Saints. He won a Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49ers during the 1994 season and was inaugurated into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
The Florida native returned to Pittsburgh to attend the commencement ceremony at the end of April. He was a second-team All-American in his final year at the school, where he played on the same defensive line as fellow Pitt legend Hugh Green.
It was an excellent career for the leader of the ‘Dome Patrol' — a Super Bowl title, Hall of Fame jacket and a place in the Saints' Ring of Honor to boot — but the 65-year-old thinks the college degree belongs at the top of his list of achievements.
“I'd put it up with the Super Bowl and all,” Rickey Jackson said. “This is something I achieved personally on my own, so I'd put it right up with that.”
