Gateway grad Courtney Jackson leaves Syracuse, enters transfer portal
Share this post:
Gateway graduate Courtney Jackson recently announced that he is entering the NCAA Transfer Portal and has concluded his playing career at Syracuse.
The graduate student, with two years of eligibility remaining, made the announcement Nov. 29 on Twitter.
The wide receiver said a lot of prayer and consultation with those close to him helped him arrive at his decision.
“First, I want to start by thanking God for blessing me with the opportunity to further my career and education,” Jackson said in his Twitter message.
“I would like to thank the Syracuse coaching staff for taking a chance on me in high school. I want to thank the trainers, other coaches, academic coordinators, and anybody else who has helped me get to this point in my life.
“I have formed many great, lifelong relationships here at Syracuse, and I couldn’t have had a better experience and encountered better people.”
Several Division I schools have reached out with offers since his decision, including Kansas, Appalachian State and James Madison.
Jackson is the third Syracuse wide receiver to enter the transfer portal. The Orange (7-5, 4-4 ACC) will be without him as they take on Minnesota from the Big Ten in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29 at Yankee Stadium.
Jackson finished his Syracuse career with 62 receptions for 662 yards and four touchdowns.
A 2019 Gateway graduate, Jackson selected Syracuse over several other Division I offers, including ones from West Virginia and Baylor in the Big 12, Kentucky in the SEC and Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference.
He made his debut in one game in 2019 before taking a redshirt.
Jackson played in all 11 games as a slot receiver in his 2020 redshirt freshman season and made 10 catches for 69 yards.
He broke out last year as he retained his redshirt freshman status under the special NCAA covid allowance.
Appearing in all 12 games with eight starts at wide receiver, he caught 37 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns.
He posted season-highs of eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Pitt in the season finale.
Several weeks earlier, he returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown in a 21-6 victory over Boston College. An injury thrust him into primary kick return duties for the first time.
That performance earned him ACC Specialist of the Week honors.
Jackson’s overall body of work for the 2021 season had those at Pro Football Focus take notice, and they selected him to their All-ACC Team.
His numbers tailed off this past fall in comparison as he caught 15 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown in 12 games.
Jackson was highly rated at wide receiver by outlets such as ESPN, 247Sports.com and Rivals.com during his senior season at Gateway.
He earned Class 5A Big East First-Team honors three times, was a two-time all-state selection and was tabbed an All-East Region pick by PrepStar as a senior.
Gateway went a combined 26-3 in his final two seasons (2017 and 2018). He helped the 2017 Gators win the WPIAL Class 5A title and make it to the PIAA championship game in Hershey. The 2018 team reached the WPIAL semifinals.
Jackson finished with high school career totals of 153 catches for 3,015 yards and 47 touchdowns. He hauled in 96 passes for 1,916 yards and a state-best 24 touchdowns in 2017.
Jackson perhaps is most remembered for his state-semifinal performance that year where he caught 15 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns in a dramatic 31-28 victory over Manheim Central.