Kicking in American football, let alone the NFL, was never a goal — or even a dream — for Mark Jackson, an Irishman from Wicklow, Ireland.
But thanks to his performance at the International Player Pathway’s Pro Day at South Florida, and then winning the Steelers’ kicking clinic held in Dublin last month, Jackson is kicking in the NFL — sort of.
Jackson is a rookie minicamp tryout player for the Steelers Friday-Sunday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side. Putting on the Black and Gold and getting a chance to kick for an NFL team in the rookie minicamp is an opportunity Jackson is grateful for, even if it’s not one he even dreamed of.