Loved him!: Kenny Jackson.

Kenny, Kenny, Kenny. Golly I idolized him. I was just at the outset of my PSU football obsession and Kenny was my first (really really really serious) football crush - My adoration for Mr. Jackson was cemented during the 1981 contest against Pitt - you all know the play. My dad had taken a bus trip to Pittsburgh to see the game, leaving Mom and me at home. I remember watching the game on TV, hoping to catch a glimpse of "Daddy" - as a result, I saw one of the best/most memorable games in Penn State Football history. Blackledge and Jackson were on fire that afternoon (coincidentally, Jackie Sherrill's birthday - Dad said that, after the game was well in hand, the pocket of Penn State fans - basically the only people left in the stadium - started singing "Happy Birthday" to Coach Sherrill - over and over). Just a sophomore, Jackson contributed to the team for two more seasons (winning All American honors in both 1982 and 1983) before being chosen as the Philadelphia Eagles first round draft pick.

Kenny was just so cute! I saved up my Christmas money to buy an authentic PSU #82 jersey - I think it was $25 (or maybe it was $50 and my parents paid half) - which was a FORTUNE! The 1983 Blue White game was my first opportunity to meet him (Kenny didn't regularly participate in the B/W games, because he also ran spring track); I was wearing my #82 jersey and the "old men" kept asking me "do you know whose jersey you're wearing" - and yelling at Kenny to "hey look" - it was embarrassing - I loved every minute of it. I stood in line for Kenny's autograph that day - along with a gazillion other snotty nosed kids - when he handed it back to me I noticed that he had signed "Ken Jackson" - I handed it back to him and said, "could you please sign it 'Kenny'?" Cheeky. He did.

Jackson returned to PSU in 1993 to coach wide receivers. He moved on to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2001 (through 2003).