Photo of Blake Jackson courtesy of UMHB Athletics
After a 2024 season that saw him contribute to both the St. Louis Battlehawks’ receiving and kick return units, UMHB alum Blake Jackson was re-signed to the Battlehawks’ active roster on Tuesday afternoon.
The 2025 season is set to kick off on March 28. It will be Jackson’s second year in the United Football League (UFL), and the second time in the last seven years that he has suited up for one team in consecutive seasons.
Jackson, who led The Cru to the 2016 national title as a quarterback, has made his mark at the professional level as a receiver and returner. This past season for St. Louis, he was part of a deep and talented receiving corps, and saw limited action over the course of 10 games. He finished the season with seven catches for 20 yards, but also had an impact for the Battlehawks on special teams, with six kickoff returns for a total of 199 yards (33.16 yards/return). Jackson’s longest return went for 58 yards in St. Louis’ week three matchup against the DC Defenders, as he raced up the sideline and put the offense in prime scoring position.
Prior to his arrival in St. Louis, he was a go-to target for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the former XFL, which merged with the USFL prior to last season and formed the UFL. Seattle was not one of the XFL franchises selected to be part of the merger, and St. Louis signed Jackson out of the UFL dispersal draft. In Seattle, Jackson and quarterback Ben DiNucci, who is now with the Buffalo Bills, combined for 45 receptions, 445 yards through the air, and a pair of touchdowns as the Sea Dragons reached the division championship game in 2023.
As a Crusader, Jackson rewrote the offensive record books during his three seasons in Belton. He threw for 4,3111 yards, which now ranks as the sixth-most in UMHB history, and ran for 1,619 yards. His 3,282 passing yards during the 15-0 season in 2016 were the most by a UMHB quarterback in program history until Kyle King’s 3,676-yard performance in 2022. Jackson’s 35 passing touchdowns and 235 completions in 2016 both rank second in the program’s history.
The Houston native also scored UMHB’s lone touchdown in The Cru’s 10-7 Stagg Bowl win over UW-Oshkosh in 2016, crossing the goal line with 3:16 left in the second quarter on a one-yard run.
Jackson is one of two Division III alums on the Battlehawks’ active roster, with long snapper Alex Matheson (Cal Lutheran) being the other. St. Louis heads into 2025 after a 7-3 season that saw them finish first in the XFL division standings and reach the XFL conference finals. The Battlehawks’ complete 2025 schedule can be found here.
