Former UMHB All-American Blake Jackson has signed to play Wide Receiver with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.
"I've been putting in the work day in and day out for about the past year and a half," Jackson said. "To actually see it pay off and get to this point to be able to sign with Calgary and earn a contract is amazing."
Jackson led the Cru to its first National Championship after being named Most Outstanding Player in their 10-7 win over Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the 2016 Stagg Bowl. He set school records with 3,282 passing yards and 35 touchdowns, earning All-American, South Region Offensive Player of the Year and American Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors.
"Everybody has a different path," Jackson mentioned. "It doesn't matter of what level you play at. Your determination, your work ethic and your drive is what's going to put you over everybody else."
Jackson's path has taking him from Southeast Missouri State to Mary Hardin-Baylor and now to the CFL. It's a path that he has seen former UMHB All-American Jerrell Freeman take many years ago.
"He went to the CFL for two or three years then with the Indianapolis Colts and had a great career in both the NFL and CFL," Jackson said. "He has been a big mentor to me talking about how your work ethic cannot change. You have to stay determined. You got to have that edge to you throughout your whole career. You got to have that dog in you to keep on working."
Even though his journey has been frustrating at times, Blake says he's grateful for the adversity he has gone through.
"There's going to be times when certain things are going to come your way that you are going to have to jump over," Jackson mentoned. "Certain obstacles you are going to have to hurdle and all that kind of stuff. I feel like previous past experiences have prepared me for this moment in my life to be able to deal with adversity with no problem and just keep on going and keep on working."
The former signal caller has been working since last summer on making the transition from quarterback to wide receiver. He says the improvement he has made is night and day.
"I've made tremendous progress. From when I started doing receiver stuff to now, it's completely different," Jackson mentioned. "From my technique, to my breaks, to my knowledge of just being a pure receiver."
Last season, Calgary finished 13-5-1, losing to the Toronto Argonauts 27-24 in the 105th Grey Cup. Blake hopes to change all of that this upcoming season.
"I want to go up there and help the team win a Grey Cup and doing everything in my power to help better that team," Jackson said.
In three seasons at Mary Hardin-Baylor, Jackson appeared in 39 games, passing for 4,311 yards and 49 touchdowns.