Maui Linebacker Dickson Signs with NFL Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie linebacker JoJo Dickson, left, and rookie running back Richard Murphy, right, work together to block veteran running back Montell Ownes (24) on a punt protection drill during NFL football training camp, Friday, July 29, 2011, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Rick Wilson)

By Rodney S. Yap

It’s been nine months since the breakup and Monday the Jacksonville Jaguars reunited with Maui’s Jojo Dickson, signing the linebacker and two other young players.

Joining the former Idaho and Baldwin standout are place-kicker Sam Swank and defensive tackle David Howard. All three first-year players are free-agents in the National Football League and are expected to help the Jaguars through veteran orientation beginning Tuesday.

Like Dickson, Swank spent some time with the Jaguars in training camp last year, but both did not make it past the first cuts. Dickson wore No. 47 for one week.

Howard was a seventh-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft from Brown to the Tennessee Titans, before being bounced between Oakland and Seattle. Swank has been with Philadelphia, Cincinnati, the New York Giants and the Jaguars since entering the league in 2009.

A year removed from Idaho, Dickson spent the year getting bigger, stronger and faster at Maui Sports Conditioning. He returned to the Vandals’ Pro Day on March 25 and impressed scouts in attendance with big combine numbers, including a 42-inch vertical jump.

Dickson celebrated with friends on Sunday and thanked all his supporters on Facebook with this entry on Monday.

“Thanks everyone from the 808 to the 208 who supported me and what I believed in for the past year as I chased my dreams,” Dickson wrote. “I want you to know that I couldn’t have done it without you and I appreciate all the help and love you showed me. I’m truly blessed to have people like you in my life and I love all of you, thanks again and above all thank GOD!!!”