Jackson was a Parade All-American, a USA Today Preseason Super 25 player and a participant in the U.S. Army All-American game. Jackson earned first-team all-state honors from both the Seattle Times and the Associated Press in 2004, helped Pasco to the Class 4A state title in 2003 (second-team all-state and conference Co-Offensive Player-of-the-Year honors) Jackson also earned three letters in basketball and two in track, capturing the state title in the 100 meters as both a freshman and sophomore. Jackson’s college football career included stops in Nebraska and Hawaii.

Coach Adam Shackleford was impressed enough with Jackson during his workout at the Fever’s Open Tryout, he was offered a contract to help his hometown team. Local guy makes the team!

 The Tri-Cities Fever, a member of the Indoor Football League, opens its eighth season at home on Feb. 25, 2012.  For information about Fever season tickets contact the Fever office at (509) 222-2215 or visit us on line at www.tricitiesfever.com.

The Fever is way stoked about opening night and the overall 2012 season. Barely more than a week left to take care of everything that needs to be handled in time to throw open the doors for the first of our seven Toyota Center parties in 2012. It will be surreal to have another something drop from the Toyota Center ceiling rafters related to the Fever. It will be a full six years since the NIFL Championship banner was dropped as the Fever opened the 2006 campaign. For 2012, the Mayor of Kennewick, Steve Young, will pull the cord that releases the banner drop. Mr. Young was very instrumental in helping to keep the Fever here when the squad was a roster without a league in late 2009/early 2010.

Camp 2012: No issues with physicals, easily the smoothest transition in getting players ready for the season in Coach Shack’s tenure with the Fever. Three pretty good football players were cut last night and the Fever coaching staff has been hammering the men trying to make the squad in practice and those fellas have responded in kind with effort and perseverance, desperately showing how badly they want to make this team. Guys are leaving it all out on the field and Coach Shackleford can’t remember having this many guys banged up so early in camp. It’s a testament to the desire of these young men who know Tri-Cities is the place you want to be playing in the IFL.

Having a chance to talk to Coach Shack about the process of letting players go, he said it was tough. But you have to be firm and straight forward. Guys appreciate that this is a business and if you treat it that way without too much emotion that is always the best way to handle your affairs. Coach’s demeanor and success speak for themselves.

On the field the team is coming together quite nicely. Of all the applicants who attended the open tryout the most impressive was former Pasco High School stud, Leon Wright-Jackson who thoroughly impressed Coach to the point where he signed him!

In 2012, we’re doing things never attempted in franchise history before and it’s way cool not to just rest on our laurels and go with what has always worked. We kind of do that already with certain things (Fever Girls brought in on Harleys, Roy Jones Jr. played on kickoffs, Cotton Eyed Joe and shirtless kiddos in the 4^th quarter). But it’s great we’re trying new things this year including Social Interactive Media with kappkvew on twitter; new, improved and kid friendly John Deere Tricycle races from RDO Equipment Co.; Connell Oil donating money to charity for kick returns to midfield and beyond; LIVE TV coverage in 2012 on Swx (2/25; 4/27; 5/26); Pyrotechnics on Salute to America Night; the return of Cline Computers, “Show Me the Money”; New mini gymnastic tumblers; a penalty flag sponsor and Sun River Electric taking over the sponsorship of the Gridiron Girl’s Electric Slide.

Coach Shack also disclosed that the poster to be given away on opening night is the best looking poster he’s seen in the history of his tenure across the indoor spectrum: high praise indeed….the poster features Houston Lillard, Steve Whitehead and a couple of the Fringe @ the Parkway (Sponsor plug) Fever Gridiron Girls. Pick it up for free if you are one of the first 750 peeps in the door Saturday night of the home opener. Schedule magnets will be passed out to those who get here early too and I’m thinkin’ at least 50 points will be hung on Everett (uh huh huh he said, “hung”) and that means free chalupas for everyone! Stay tuned for a new Taco Bell shindig beginning with the Fever’s 2^nd home game on March 10^th.

Travis Vance has spearheaded the yearly “rip my fingers to shreds pulling off 2011 dasher stickers” campaign and it is just wrapping up with our Fast Signs guy Jared emblazoning our 2012 sponsors in all of their glory on the dasher boards that surround the field….and to the returning sponsors, we check to make sure their piece of sponsorship is not too nicked up so everyone is spit shined for the parties we throw beginning in just over a week.

Is it not enough that Terrell Owens is playing/involved in the IFL, now we catch word that the Chicago Slaughter of the IFL has offered a contract to legendary NFL Wide Receiver Randy Moss? Another publicity stunt? Of course. Will it come to fruition? Probably not. But everyone and their mother initially scoffed, dismissed and sniffed at the T.O. deal, and look how that turned out. Nothing surprises me anymore.

I gotta Fever! And the only prescription is more cowbell! Fever Football Returns Soon!

Check out more Fever happenings and the discussion of said happenings weekday mornings from 0600-1000 with “Classic Rock Mornings” on KEGX,  Eagle 106.5 FM, featuring Jaxson, Shawna and yours truly, Curt Cartier…..until next time…..

Both quarterbacks are hungry and looking for their opportunity to one day play in the NFL or CFL. They think the first step in that direction will be making this year’s Fever roster. “That’s one of the big reasons I’m here,” said Peters. “Everyone told me this is a first-class organization and that it’s a great place to get film and move to the next level.” Peters (6-foot-3, 225 pounds), a former standout at Rocky Mountain College, has proven he can throw the ball. There he was a three-time All-American and passed for more than 10,000 yards.

However, Peters like Bynes, is new to the indoor game and it is taking a little getting used to. That was evident by the glove on his right throwing hand. “I have never worn one before, but this ball is slippery,” he said.

Bynes, who has dealt with injuries throughout his college career, is in the Tri-Cities for the same reasons as Peters. “Everyone I talked to said this is the place to come play,” said Bynes, who was training in Florida. “I was looking for an opportunity to come play and this offer came up.” Bynes (6-4, 230) played at Hampton University where he burst on the scene as a sophomore in 2008 and was named to the second-team all-MEAC team. He set school records as a sophomore for completions (199), passing yards (2,713), and total offense (2,616 yards).  He also set a school record for most passing yards in a game (403) against Southern Illinois. Bynes played in just 12 games in his junior and senior seasons. For his career, Bynes completed 268 of 492 passes for 3,833 yards and 27 touchdown passes. “These guys can both play and think could be a big assets to our team,” said Fever coach Adam Shackleford.

Bynes and Peters are expecting to vie for one roster spot with the return of veteran quarterback Houston Lilliard. Lillard was one of the high profile players to re-sign with the Fever in the offseason after leading the team to the Intense Conference championship and the Indoor Bowl. But as he enters training camp this season, he will be pushed by two newcomers to the indoor game. “Everything we do is a competition, and we push each other,” Bynes said. “We are also here to help each other learn and get better.”

The Tri-Cities Fever, a member of the Indoor Football League, opens its eighth season at home on Feb. 25. For information about Fever tickets contact the Fever office at (509) 222-2215 or visit us on line at www.tricitiesfever.com.

And after the first impressions of his training camp roster, Shackleford is actually a little surprised. “You see a lot of things on tape, but it’s another thing to see them in front of you on the field,” said the third-year coach. “We knew some of these guys were going to be good, but some are even better than we expected.”

One of those players that has impressed early is receiver Giovanni Stanley, who played in one game for the Fever last season. All totaled, he spent about 10 days on the Fever roster last season. In the offseason he was signed by the San Diego Chargers, but a hamstring injury limited him and eventually he was released. “We’re excited to have him; he has looked really good,” Shackleford said. “We excited to have all these guys here. It’s safe to say this is the most talented training camp roster I’ve had here.”

This past week, Shackleford met most of his roster hopefuls for the first time. On Saturday, he got to see them on the field. “It’s always exciting to get these guys in here and get going,” Shackleford said. Shackleford has signed 37 players, including eight players from last year’s Intense Conference championship team. But with the level of talent he has in camp, there are no guarantees that they will make this year’s team. “They have to come out and compete like everyone else,” he said. “We want to put the best players on the field that we can.”

The Fever has less than two weeks before its season opener at home against the Everett Raptors on Feb. 25. For tickets, call 222-2215. — Of all the players who came out for Saturday’s Fever tryout, the most impressive was former Pasco standout Leon Wright-Jackson, who caught Shackleford’s eye to the point of maybe giving Leon a second look. Stay tuned.

But while it seemed like the offense was scoring on every possession, it was a staunch defense that sometimes was overlooked.

Last season, the Fever defense ranked in the top 10 in the IFL in most defensive categories, and a big reason for that were the plays of the defensive backs in the pass-oriented league.

With training camp underway, the Fever will turn to a lot of new faces to fill in the pieces at defense. However, one of those spots will be filled with a familiar face that will be beginning his third season with the Fever.

Lionell Singleton (5-foot-9, 180 pounds), who played in all 18 games for the Fever last season, leads a talented group of defensive backs signed for the 2012 season. He ranked second on the team in tackles (67) to go with three interceptions and 12 pass break-ups last season. Singleton, who played at Florida International, signed on late in 2010 with the Fever after being released by the Alabama Vipers of the Arena Football League. In his abbreviated time with the Fever, he had 32 tackles, three interceptions returning two of those for touchdowns in just six games. “We are excited to have Lionell back,” Shackleford said. “He is what we look for in a player. Not only is he a great player, but a great person as well.” Singleton is one of six defensive backs Shackleford has signed for the 2012 season. Others signed for the 2012 season include:

·         Joshua Abrams (6-0, 180) played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League last season.  He signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. After spending the 2008 season on the practice squad he was signed to a future contract at the end of the year.

·         Rudell Crim (5-10, 180) is a former junior college All-American and standout for the University of Arkansas. Crim played in 26 games the past two seasons (2009 and 2010) for the Razorbacks and was a key cog in the team’s improved defense. In his senior season, he had three interceptions, and 53 tackles. As a junior, he started all 13 games and tied for the team lead with four pass-breakups.

·         Marquise Liverpool (510, 200) was a 2011 free agent with the Detroit Lions this fall. He was a three-year starter at Temple University and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 2004 amateur draft.

·         Jamail Berry (6-1, 200), was a three-year player at Western Michigan and earned third-team all-MAC conference honors as a senior in 2010. He played in 34 games in three season, recording 162 tackles, seven interceptions, and four forced fumbles. “I expect these guys to really battle it out for a roster spot,” Shackleford said. “There is a lot of speed and talent with this group.”