Kicking Up Milestones

Southern University senior Breck Ackley had his career as a Jaguar come full circle on November 25 when his team defeated Grambling State University 21-17 in the State Farm Bayou Classic.
The game was Ackley’s last as a player.
“Overall 2006 was a pretty good year for me,” Ackley said. “Aside from being around my friends and enjoying my senior season, the things I’ll remember most were the wins in the Bayou Classic and Homecoming.”
Both games the Lake Charles native said the team won for the fans of the Jaguar Nation.
Following the Bayou Classic victory, Ackley walked off the field with nothing left to prove. The kicker/punter, and computer science major, began his achievement the day he stepped on campus four seasons ago, and achieved many milestones throughout his storied career as a Jaguar.
As a junior, Ackley became Southern’s all-time leading scorer with a PAT in the Jaguar’s 2005 Bayou Classic loss to Grambling State, 50-35 in Houston’s Reliant Stadium.
A year later Ackley ended his career with 271 points, made good on 8 of 13 field-goal tries, including a career-best of 44 yards, and converted 32 of 35 PATs as a senior.
During his final season, Ackley enjoyed the best statistical season of his career, and led the Southwestern Athletic Conference, averaging 46.8 yards per punt.
Ackley’s average was good for first in 1-AA. Ackley also had 20 of his 49 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
“Since I signed with Southern as a freshman, I always wanted to punt,” he said. “I always knew I could do it because I worked on it in practice, and this season everything fell into place.”
Despite leading the nation in punting, Ackley was snubbed by Alabama A&M’s punter, Rashan Cylar, for SWAC first team honors.
Instead, Ackley was voted to the All-SWAC second team, while still managing to earn Black College All-American and All-American honors for his punting performance last season.
Ackley also earned first-team All-SWAC honors as a kicker as well.
“It was unbelievable to have my play recognized the way it was this past season,” Ackley said. “The awards were something that I really didn’t think about during the course of the season, but when it was over, I looked at the stats and realized that I had a shot.
“It became surreal when I got the news that I was an All-American selection, and I still haven’t come down from it,” he said.
When asked what he will do after graduation, Ackley said, “Move on to the next level.
“Even though the season is over, I’m continuing to work-out and try my best to get ready for Pro day coming up in March,” he said. “I’ve put it in the hands of the Lord, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”