Marcus Jackson, Football, 1993-96
Marcus Jackson earned Second Team All-American honors as a defensive back in 1995, helping the Bengals to their first winning season in 12 years. On his way perhaps to other All-American season, Jackson suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury in the season's third game, becoming paralysed as a result. Jackson was unanimously selected First Team All-Big Sky Conference by the league's coaches after earning second team honors in 1995. In each year following the injury, the ISU football team selected the "Marcus Jackson Award" recipient, voted on by the team for the player who showcases Jackson's courage and fighting spirit. While Jackson's athletic career ended that September, Marcus forged ahead. He returned to Idaho State in 1998, and earned his bachelor's degree in business in 1999. Jackson is now the president and owner of OTS Athletes, which stands for "Only the Strong", a web service aimed at placing high school student-athletes in college.