New Ellenton schools celebrate Tarron Jackson ahead of Super Bowl

Feb. 10—The New Ellenton area will have a ton of Philadelphia Eagle fans this weekend in support of Tarron Jackson, a Silver Bluff High School graduate.

Jackson, a defensive end on the Eagles' practice squad, is a former student of Silver Bluff, New Ellenton Middle STEAM Magnet School and Greendale Elementary. To celebrate him heading to the Super Bowl, students and staff members at Silver Bluff and Greendale donned their Eagles gear Friday for Tarron Jackson Day.

Carneal Hall, the varsity defensive line and strength training coach and teacher at Silver Bluff, was best friends with Jackson's brother Daron in elementary school. Hall also played football with Jackson in high school.

"Amazing," Hall said of how Jackson was as a football player. "It was just his work ethic. Tarron embodies everything that Silver Bluff football is about. His work ethic, he's respectable, he's coachable, he's humble, he's just everything you would want in a high school athlete, a college athlete, or even a professional athlete. Tarron embodies it."

Hall said to see Jackson at the Super Bowl is "unreal." He has spoken to Jackson a few times this week and told him to "enjoy the moment."

"Like Tarron is one of the guys, even though he's a practice squad guy right now, Tarron wants to be on the field making the big plays," Hall said. "It's kind of like enjoy your process because a lot of people never get to see the Super Bowl in their entire career. So just enjoy it, it's a blessing, soak it all up."

Coach Keith Radford, the athletic director at Silver Bluff, coached Jackson all four years in high school. Jackson played tight end and defensive line. He described Jackson as a "great kid" and said he was excited to see Jackson in the game.

"He was a leader of that group that year," Radford said. "In the weight room and on the field you didn't have to worry about him not giving 100%."

Brad Johnson taught Jackson government and economics at Silver Bluff and said he was a great student.

"He was always on it," Johnson said. "He just got government and that seemed to be really be first love. I remember just always a smile on his face, an inquisitive young man, always asking questions. He would put things together in his head, what about this, why this, why that, a lot of whats and whys. Always had to come back with something that wasn't just a one word answer. He was a tremendous asset to me in the classroom because he would always keep the conversation going."

John said he has always been proud of Jackson, especially his graduating from Coastal Carolina.

"Everything that he's done has always been a real source of pride for me," Johnson said. "There's probably not a lot of teachers out there that can say they've gotten to teach a professional athlete and to see somebody go that far to the Super Bowl, wow, this is really cool."

Meredith Dandridge taught English when Jackson was in high school and said he was a "phenomenal" student.

"He was empathic, he was diligent," Dandridge said. "You could see he was going to big places, he was going to have a bright future, and I would be surprised if he didn't. I actually lost a daughter in 2013 and he gave me a card telling me about how he had lost his brother and I just thought that was the sweetest thing. I've still got that card that he gave me."

Jackson's brother Daron died in 2008 from leukemia at age 12. According to his bio on the Eagles website, Jackson made a promise to his brother he would make it to the NFL.

Konya Bing, media specialist at Greendale, taught Jackson when she was a fifth-grade math teacher. She said he was always a good student and she was "ecstatic" to see a former student playing in the big game.

"We decided to make it Tarron Jackson Week, so all week I've been sharing facts about him with the students, and we made a powerpoint, the high school, the middle school and myself, we made a powerpoint together and shared it with all three schools," Bing said.

Before the big game Bing had a message for Jackson.

"We just want to let Tarron know how proud we are of him no matter the turnout of the Super Bowl, we're proud of him for the accomplishments he's made from graduating from college, playing in college to going to the NFL to making it to the Super Bowl," Bing said. "Even if he doesn't step foot on the turf we are proud to call him our own."

After graduating from Silver Bluff, Jackson played at Coastal Carolina where he graduated with a degree in applied mathematics. He was the 191st overall draft pick when the Eagles picked him and it is his second year with the team.