Bulldogs to have hands full with Louisville QB Jackson
Mississippi State linebacker Erroll Thompson chuckled as a reporter posed a question to him a few days ago.
With the Bulldogs in line to face Louisville and its dynamic quarterback Lamar Jackson – the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner – on Saturday in the TaxSlayer Bowl, Thompson was asked what must be done to slow down Jackson.
“There’s a lot of stuff you have to do,” Thompson said smiling. Truer words have perhaps never been spoken. If State hopes to return to Starkville as champions of the TaxSlayer Bowl, limiting Jackson is of the utmost importance. It’s something few teams have been able to do since Jackson’s collegiate career began.
Jackson has rewritten the Louisville record book and is making the NCAA edit its all-time leaders as well.
Jackson is the first player in NCAA history to pass for at least 3,000 yards and rush for at least 1,000 in consecutive seasons. With just 26 rushing yards and 129 passing yards on Saturday, Jackson would become just the second player in NCAA history with 4,000 or more rushing yards and 9,000 or more passing yards in a career.
Jackson’s resume keeps on going. He’s the only player in the country averaging at least 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards per game this year. He has an FBS-best 19 games over the last two seasons with at least one rushing and one passing touchdown in a game.
There’s even more, but perhaps MSU linebacker Gerri Green sums it all up best.
“Lamar Jackson is in a league of his own,” Green said. “He is who he is. That’s going to be tough.
“Once we realized we were playing Louisville, the first name we thought of was Lamar Jackson. He’s a great player and makes great plays. You see it on film. That’s going to be the toughest task we have is facing him.”
MSU’s mission, as hard and nearly impossible as it may seem, is to contain Jackson.
Thompson said that starts with trying to make the Cardinals’ signal caller one-dimensional.
“Really, I feel like the most important thing is you can’t let him run,” Thompson said. “He’s a great passer also, but we’d rather him beat us with his arm than his legs because he has been killing people with his legs his whole career.”
Thompson’s words reflect the strategy laid out by MSU interim head coach Greg Knox.
“We have to keep (Jackson) in the pocket,” Knox said. “Once he scrambles and gets out of the pocket, he is very dangerous. He is going to do his thing. He’s going to get his. We just have to maintain him and control him.”
Green says MSU’s success or failure at containing Jackson comes down to one thing – discipline.
“That’s something we’ve all been really focusing in on at practice is just doing our jobs,” Green said. “If everybody does their job, that helps to limit what he can do. He’s Lamar Jackson though, so he can take a little and make it a lot.”
Lost in all the talk of how great Jackson is, there is one other little nugget that Mississippi State players don’t mind admitting. They are actually looking forward to facing him.
It’s not often that players get the chance to test their skills against someone the caliber of Jackson. Ready or not, that’s the task the Bulldogs have. To a man, most Bulldogs say they are relishing the chance.
“It’s a wonderful challenge for our players to have the opportunity to play against a Heisman Trophy winner and a guy of (Jackson’s) caliber,” Knox said. “This is a great opportunity for our defensive guys. They are excited about the challenge and looking forward to the opportunity of playing him.”