Las Vegas Bowl great Steven Jackson returns to help promote game

By Jesse Granger

Friday, Sept. 30, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Former NFL running back Steven Jackson remembers running for touchdowns at Sam Boyd Stadium.

He did it as a youngster, playing in a Pop Warner exhibition during halftime of a UNLV football game.

Years later, the Las Vegas native returned to the stadium that he grew up attending and ran for a few more scores — five to be exact.

Jackson ran for 149 yards and five touchdowns to lead Oregon State over New Mexico 55-14 in the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl.

“It was that game that probably changed the course of my life,” Jackson said. “Here I am a Las Vegas kid born and raised in the city. I played in Sam Boyd Stadium with no implications just as a kid looking for a Gatorade after the game, but never did I think that in 2003 I would turn out to be the touchdown record holder.”

Thirteen years later the record still stands.

Jackson, a member of the Las Vegas Bowl Hall of Fame, was the guest speaker Thursday at the bowl game’s annual ticket drive kickoff at the Hard Rock.

Jackson’s unbelievable performance in the game was enough to convince him he was ready to go pro. Before kickoff he said he was still undecided about returning to Oregon State for his senior season, but after he told his family that he would be entering the NFL draft.

“It was one of those games that pushed me over the top,” Jackson said. “I had an outstanding performance and we won in a dominating fashion. I believe it was a correct sendoff as I went into my professional career.”

Jackson was drafted in the first round by the St. Louis Rams and played 12 seasons in the NFL with the Rams, Falcons and Patriots. He finished his career 18th all-time with 11,438 rushing yards and scored 78 total touchdowns.

The three-time pro bowler knows what a performance in the bowl game can do for a career.

“What’s most important is that these kids take advantage of the opportunity on that big stage,” Jackson said. “That’s all I did. I took advantage of the opportunity and I think all these young men that play the sport just want to do the same thing.”

The stage has only grown since Jackson played in the game. The Las Vegas Bowl is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season, making it the 15th oldest bowl game.

The game has sold out in eight of the last 11 seasons, with 673,000 combined fans packing Sam Boyd Stadium to attend the game over the years.

According to Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the game has brought in an estimated $270 million to the Las Vegas economy since its inception.

Jackson grew up in Las Vegas and played for Eldorado High School. As a Sundevil he ran for 6,396 yards and 81 touchdowns, leading Eldorado to the Sunrise Regional title in 2000 and a state runner-up finish.

He passed up UNLV for a chance to play at Oregon State where he finished second in school history in all-purpose yards. But Jackson’s favorite moment at Oregon State was coming home for the holidays to play in the 2003 Las Vegas Bowl.

“I was fortunate that I was able to come home for my last collegiate game in my hometown,” Jackson said. “There was a big Christmas dinner with almost everyone on the team at my house. If anybody knows where I live now that house was nothing like that. We were busting out of the sides.”

When Jackson played at Eldorado he was one of very few players recruited out of the city to play Division I college football.

“At one point in time, 10-15 years ago, we weren’t a very highly recruited area,” Jackson said. “Now when you have high school teams on national television it really means something and makes me proud. It’s good and it gets these kids the opportunity not only to play football but to also go to another university to grow up and get a great education.”

Jackson has always felt that he is an ambassador for the city when it comes to football.

“I represent the city wherever I’ve gone and I try to do it in a fashion that makes them proud,” Jackson said. “I take great pride in that and any time that I turn on a game on Sunday or Saturday and hear guys say ‘from Las Vegas, Nevada’ it makes my chest stick out.”