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Jackson forced to take medical retirement leaving six scholarships open

Knee injuries have forced Koilan Jackson to retire from football, according to a report Wednesday morning, and it opens a bunch of scholarships for walk-ons.

Andrew Hutchinson at HawgBeat.com first reported the story.

Jackson, the son of Hall of Fame tight end Keith Jackson, started his career with knee injuries and problems continued with both knees throughout his career.

He was a highly-touted recruit from Joe T. Robinson in Little Rock and never really was able to show people what he could do. Primarily playing wide receiver, he appeared in 14 games and had 4 catches.

After last year, he asked Sam Pittman if he could move to tight end and that was granted, along with a number change to 88, the same number his father wore in a Hall of Fame career with Oklahoma.

The problem for the Hogs now, though, is just five tight ends at a position that has suddenly gotten a little thin.

Arkansas’ scholarships are down to 79 and they have to be at 85 by the opener to retain the right to have early enrollees in the spring.

The most likely solution is a host of walk-ons land on scholarship over the next week.