Even though he spent only six months in Carbondale, Brandon Jacobs was eager to give back to a community that gave so much to him.

That is why the former Saluki running back, who won a Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants in 2008, said he was happy to return to southern Illinois.

With his wife Kim and son Brayden in tow, Jacobs’ whirlwind return to the region included an autograph signing at Fox Sports Cards in Marion and the 14th annual Home Team Drive Banquet hosted by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

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Because of the connections he made in his brief stint at SIU, Jacobs said Carbondale would always be a special place for him and his family.

‘I cherish that year. That year was the reason I am where I am today,’ Jacobs said. ‘I had a good time here and the people of southern Illinois opened up to me ‘- the whole community; I appreciate that. Southern Illinois will always be in my heart.’

Jacobs played one year of football at SIU after transferring from Auburn, and he made the most of it. Listed at 6-foot-4, 260 pounds upon arrival, Jacobs bowled through defenders en route to a 992-yard, 19-touchdown season in 2004.

Even though Jacobs only played a short while at SIU, hundreds of fans showed up to his autograph signing appearance in Marion, where proceeds were donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Fund. Brandon’s wife, Kim, said the family decided to donate in support of finding a cure for diabetes because his wife babysat for a young boy who suffered from the disease.

‘Our kids are our future, so I want to make sure they’re taken care of,’ Jacobs said.

Joshua Yates, a senior from Energy studying elementary education, said he arrived at 4:30 p.m., three hours before Jacobs was scheduled to make his appearance. Yates, who said he was a St. Louis Rams fan, said he supported Jacobs while he was at SIU and continued to follow him as he has climbed the NFL ranks.

Yates said he was proud to see a player of Jacobs’ caliber return to his roots.

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‘Any time an athlete of his greatness ‘- a Super Bowl champion ‘- comes back to southern Illinois, I always want to be there because southern Illinois needs something like this,’ Yates said. ‘Anytime an ex-SIU athlete comes back after having great success, it’s great for the area because the kids get to see him and they’ll say, ‘He went to SIU … I can go to SIU.”

Yates added he was worried Jacobs would not return to Carbondale after finding fame and fortune in New York because of the shortness of Jacobs’ SIU stay. Fellow Saluki fan Camden Schiff, 8, of Harrisburg, was also surprised to see Jacobs return to the area.

Camden, who was joined by his father Bart as the first two people in line, smiled and cheered as Jacobs walked into the front door of the store.

‘I think it’s cool because I’ve never met anyone like that,’ Camden said.

Despite his success on the field, Jacobs’ return has centered on reconnecting with the southern Illinois region.

Jacobs said he felt it was important to make it known how much he cared about the people that welcomed him with open arms in 2004.

‘Being around the people in southern Illinois is a blessing. Doing a lot of charity work is something I really wish I could do a lot more of,’ he said. ‘Schedules are busy; sometimes I can’t really do too much, but I do what I can.’

Jacobs, who recently signed a multi-million dollar contract extension with the New York Giants, said he had a productive meeting with SIU Athletic Director Mario Moccia. Jacobs said Moccia brought him up to speed on the latest Saluki Way developments, which Jacobs believes could give the Salukis a leg up in securing the kind of recruits that have made SIU a successful football team.

Jacobs said he had not yet pledged a donation to the Saluki Way construction project, but he would look into doing so at a later time.

‘I have to sit down with my financial team and see where there is room, and what we can do,’ Jacobs said.

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