Terry Hersom, Sioux City Journal (Sep. 29, 2009)
You'll hear this at more than one school, I'm sure, but many folks at Coe College in Cedar Rapids like to call the place the "Harvard of the Midwest."

That's certainly a stretch, I'll have to admit. Even though Coe is the alma mater of my late father and his mother, a summa cum laude graduate back in 1921, there is no Midwestern version of Harvard.

For one thing, while seven U.S. presidents have studied at Harvard as either undergraduates or grad students, Coe has ties to zero commanders-in-chief.

On the other hand, as of this moment, Coe boasts the fourth leading rusher in the National Football League, whereas Harvard's best of three NFL actives is Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk, the former Minnesota Vikings mainstay.

Fred Jackson, the ex-Kohawk who starred two seasons for your very own Sioux City Bandits, has made the most of three starts to open the Buffalo Bills' 2009 season, filling in while the problem-plagued Marshawn Lynch sat out a league-mandated three-game suspension.

Lynch, who skipped his senior year at California and was the 12th pick in the 2007 NFL draft, has rushed for over 1,000 yards (1,115 and 1,036) in each of his first two seasons with the Bills.

He walked away from sexual assault charges after a Dec. 13, 2006, incident in California and got by with a small fine and the revocation of his driver's license after leaving the scene when the car he was driving struck a pedestrian in Buffalo on May 31, 2008. Leniency was allowed, it seems, because the the victim wasn't seriously injured.

Last Feb. 11, though, Lynch was sitting in a parked car with two companions when police approached the vehicle and smelled marijuana. No drug charges could be pinned on any of the occupants, but the Bills star was arrested for possession of a concealed weapon, a loaded gun that turned out to be his. And, that's where the NFL finally decided to send a message.

On Sunday, as his banishment ended, Lynch was quite gracious toward Jackson, his teammate for the last two seasons, as well, and apparently a close friend. He said he'd seen comments from some fans that "said I should stay where I'm at (not playing), which I don't mind. Fred's doing a wonderful job."

Indeed, Jackson has rushed for 291 yards on 61 carries, ranking fourth in the NFL behind only Adrian Peterson of the Vikings (357), Chris Johnson of the Titans (351) and Cedric Benson of the Bengals (293).

And, the Benson story is another improbable tale, even though he ran for 64 touchdowns and 5,540 yards at Texas, ranking third and sixth in NCAA history. Fact is, the three-time Texas prep player of the year (8,423 yards, three state titles at Midland Lee), was a three-year bust after the Chicago Bears picked him fourth in the 2005 draft, only to cut him loose last September.

Jackson, who ran for 163 yards in a 33-20 win over Tampa Bay last week, added 71 yards in 18 tries in Sunday's 27-7 loss to the Saints. He has 83 additional yards on five pass receptions.

Not bad at all, clearly, for a guy who didn't even start at Lamar High School in Fort Worth, Texas. Four years later, after winding up at Coe mainly because his junior high coach, Wayne Phillips was once the Kohawks' head coach, Fred and his twin brother, Patrick, a defensive back, both finished up successful college careers. Fred, in particular, was a star,running for 29 touchdowns as a senior in the fall of 2002.

Three years after that, he was the MVP of the United Indoor Football League, leading the Bandits to a 15-3 record that included three wins in as many regular season meetings with the Sioux Falls Storm. Unfortunately, that mark also included a 40-38 loss to the Storm when the teams met a fourth and final time in the 2005 league title game at the Tyson Events Center.

According to The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Jackson has been taking his time in the limelight in stride, much as those who came to know him here would expect.

"The Most Known Unknown!!!!," is what he posted recently on his Facebook page.

"Nobody knows me, but I feel like I'm starting to make a name for myself," Jackson told The Gazette's Jeff Johnson.

Phillips kept a big hand in this story, by the way, nagging former Bills coach and general manager Marv Levy, another Coe grad, to get Jackson a tryout.

Turns out that college connection carried some clout. Not only is Jackson proving he belongs in the NFL, he recently worked out a four-year contract extension that reportedly pays him around $2 million a season.

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