The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2026
- Class:
- 2013
One of the most productive pass rushers in Longhorn history, Jackson Jeffcoat was a three-time All-Big 12 selection who earned consensus first-team All-America honors and was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Ted Hendricks Award winner (nation’s top defensive end) as a senior in 2013. He also was a Team Captain and tabbed the Longhorns’ Team MVP that year. Jeffcoat played in 40 career games with 33 starts — earning starts in all four of his seasons — and in addition to his 2013 honors, earned second-team All-Big 12 accolades in 2011 and honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition in an injury-shortened season in 2012. He ranks second on the UT all-time tackles-for-loss list (60) and seventh in sacks (27.5). Jeffcoat led team with 86 tackles, 13 sacks and 22 tackles-for-loss (both No. 5 on UT all-time single-season list) while also forcing two fumbles, recovering three, and registering an interception and blocked kick during his sensational 2013 season. After making an impact and starting two games as a true freshman in 2010, he started 12-of-13 games as a sophomore and led the Horns in sacks (8) and TFL (21) as a sophomore. He was off to a strong junior season with 11 tackles-for-loss and four sacks in his first four games before suffering a season-ending injury in the sixth game of that season. After his accomplished Longhorn career and earning his bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communications in 2013, he signed as an NFL undrafted free agent with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 and went on to play two NFL seasons with the Washington Redskins (2014-15). He signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2016, but an injury in camp sidelined him for that season. He moved on to a highly successful six-year career in the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2017. He spent all six seasons with Winnipeg (2017-23), leading the Blue Bombers to two Grey Cup Championships (2019, 2021) and advancing to the Grey Cup in each of his final four seasons. He posted 38 sacks in 78 regular seasons games — eighth-most in franchise history — and earned CFL All-Star honors in 2021. Jeffcoat, whose father, Jim, was a standout defensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys (1983-94) and Buffalo Bills (1995-97), lives in Austin and works as a cost estimator for a national general contracting company. Prior to college, Jeffcoat was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball and track & field) at Plano West High School. He was inducted into the Plano Independent School District Hall of Honor in 2024.