Northwestern University Athletics
Photo by: Stephen J. Carrera
The Skip Report: Justin Jackson
11/11/2015 1:32:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
JUSTIN JACKSON views himself as a runner. "Yeah. Yeah. That's what I do best. That's what I love," he says. "Obviously, you have to do things you don't necessarily love or things you have to grow to love that aren't running the ball. Protecting the quarterback, running routes out of the backfield, running routes out of the slot-- things I never did. But I fell in love with running the ball and that's where I feel I can make the biggest mark. So when I can do that, when I can help my team in that way, that's when I feel I make the biggest impact."
JUSTIN JACKSON was a resplendent and resilient runner through this season's start, rushing for better than 100 yards in five of the 'Cats first six games and getting at least 20 carries in all of them. But then Michigan limited him to 25 yards on just 12 carries, and Iowa limited him 30 yards on just 10 carries, and Nebraska limited him to 40 yards on just 14 carries. "It's tough. It's really tough," he says of experiencing that kind of fallowness.
"You want to help your team as much as you can and when you're not necessarily getting the ball as much as you're used to, or you're not producing as much as you were, you just feel like you're not doing anything for your team. You feel like you're kinda invisible. So it kinda sucks. But in the end you've got to find other ways to help if you can't help in the running game. Pass pro, catching the ball out of the backfield and things like that."
JUSTIN JACKSON views himself as a runner, and that only exacerbated what he was feeling during that fallow stretch. "Pretty much, because you're not able to do something that you love," he says. "But it happens to everyone. Receivers, they're not necessarily going to catch five passes and a touchdown every game. They have to block on the edge. Things like. So you've just got to keep persevering and just keep going forward. In the end you just want to get a win, so you have to do whatever you can to help your team do that."
JUSTIN JACKSON was stopped for no gain on his first carry last Saturday against Penn State, and stopped again for no gain on his second. He did manage to pick up a yard on his third, but that was the extent of his contribution in this game's opening quarter. One yard on three carries. "The first few drives, we couldn't get much going in the ground game," he says. "But, like I said, you've just got to really persevere. Penn State is a really good defense, and the last few defenses we played had really good front sevens. You've just got to keep persevering."
JUSTIN JACKSON persevered last Saturday, as did the line operating in front of him, and eventually they broke through. He picked up eight over right tackle on his first carry of the second quarter and, a snap later, he picked up a tough one up the gut. That kick started the 'Cats initial scoring drive of this game and then--with them backed up on their own nine after a Penn State pooch punt--he catalyzed the second by sweeping left behind a phalanx of pulling linemen and going for 48 to the Nittany Lion 43. "I thought we were pretty good at the point of attack. I think our offensive line probably finished more blocks than it had in the previous five, six games," Pat Fitzgerald will later say of his team's resuscitated ground game. "Then I thought Justin was able to get going early, which I think helped his confidence get going."
"Once I broke that first run, I had a lot of confidence in my line. They were getting it done," says Jackson himself. "So I knew we could run the ball a little bit and obviously we needed to a little bit more when (quarterback) Clayton (Thorson) went down (late in the first quarter). I was glad we were able to do that."
JUSTIN JACKSON went for 25 on another sweep left just three snaps later and then, in the middle of the third quarter, he swept right for 30 off of similar action. "I thought we had a really good scheme coming out," right guard Matt Frazier will later say. "We had a good idea of what they were going to do and Coach (Mick) McCall (the offensive coordinator) had some great plays to attack the defense at the weak points that we saw.
"Then, from an offensive line's standpoint, we harped on, 'Let's get him (Jackson) running outside. Let's get him in space and allow him to make some guys miss. Give him some big holes.' Personally, I love blocking for him. It's really fun. He makes us look good. We mess up, he can make us right. Then when we do our job, it makes everything easier. It's a great feeling when we see him spring a big run and you've had a key block."
"We had been running it. It's been in our game plan for awhile," Jackson himself says of those sweeps that were so successful against Penn State. "I think the fact that our O linemen are getting more comfortable with it, they're getting a lot more physical, they're staying on blocks, they're getting people down-- that's opening it up a little bit more. Obviously teams are going to be ready for it a little bit more now, and we have counter sets. But I think even if they know what we're doing, if we go out there and execute, I think it's a great play. I love it."
JUSTIN JACKSON helped set up Jack Mitchell's winning field goal last Saturday by rushing for 18 yards on the five snaps that immediately preceded it. Justin Jackson, after totaling just 95 yards on 36 carries in the 'Cats three previous games, ended this one with a career-high 186 yards on 28 carries. Justin Jackson was invisible (to use his word) no longer. "I have a lot of confidence in my line. I think they've been growing a lot and obviously they showed that against a Penn State defensive line that was tops in the country in sacks," he says. "Being able to helps my team again on the ground last week, that was huge for me."
JUSTIN JACKSON, runner, is ready for more. "I actually feel really good," he finally says. "I didn't take too many hits because on plays like that (the sweeps) it's all kind of angle tackles. You're not really getting hit in the chest a lot. So I actually feel fine. I think the bye-week has carried over. That week off was great. It felt like an eternity for your body. It kind of resets you, I want to say to the beginning of the year. But your body's more calloused now, more used to it (the hitting).
"So it's even better."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
JUSTIN JACKSON views himself as a runner. "Yeah. Yeah. That's what I do best. That's what I love," he says. "Obviously, you have to do things you don't necessarily love or things you have to grow to love that aren't running the ball. Protecting the quarterback, running routes out of the backfield, running routes out of the slot-- things I never did. But I fell in love with running the ball and that's where I feel I can make the biggest mark. So when I can do that, when I can help my team in that way, that's when I feel I make the biggest impact."
JUSTIN JACKSON was a resplendent and resilient runner through this season's start, rushing for better than 100 yards in five of the 'Cats first six games and getting at least 20 carries in all of them. But then Michigan limited him to 25 yards on just 12 carries, and Iowa limited him 30 yards on just 10 carries, and Nebraska limited him to 40 yards on just 14 carries. "It's tough. It's really tough," he says of experiencing that kind of fallowness.
"You want to help your team as much as you can and when you're not necessarily getting the ball as much as you're used to, or you're not producing as much as you were, you just feel like you're not doing anything for your team. You feel like you're kinda invisible. So it kinda sucks. But in the end you've got to find other ways to help if you can't help in the running game. Pass pro, catching the ball out of the backfield and things like that."
JUSTIN JACKSON views himself as a runner, and that only exacerbated what he was feeling during that fallow stretch. "Pretty much, because you're not able to do something that you love," he says. "But it happens to everyone. Receivers, they're not necessarily going to catch five passes and a touchdown every game. They have to block on the edge. Things like. So you've just got to keep persevering and just keep going forward. In the end you just want to get a win, so you have to do whatever you can to help your team do that."
JUSTIN JACKSON was stopped for no gain on his first carry last Saturday against Penn State, and stopped again for no gain on his second. He did manage to pick up a yard on his third, but that was the extent of his contribution in this game's opening quarter. One yard on three carries. "The first few drives, we couldn't get much going in the ground game," he says. "But, like I said, you've just got to really persevere. Penn State is a really good defense, and the last few defenses we played had really good front sevens. You've just got to keep persevering."
JUSTIN JACKSON persevered last Saturday, as did the line operating in front of him, and eventually they broke through. He picked up eight over right tackle on his first carry of the second quarter and, a snap later, he picked up a tough one up the gut. That kick started the 'Cats initial scoring drive of this game and then--with them backed up on their own nine after a Penn State pooch punt--he catalyzed the second by sweeping left behind a phalanx of pulling linemen and going for 48 to the Nittany Lion 43. "I thought we were pretty good at the point of attack. I think our offensive line probably finished more blocks than it had in the previous five, six games," Pat Fitzgerald will later say of his team's resuscitated ground game. "Then I thought Justin was able to get going early, which I think helped his confidence get going."
"Once I broke that first run, I had a lot of confidence in my line. They were getting it done," says Jackson himself. "So I knew we could run the ball a little bit and obviously we needed to a little bit more when (quarterback) Clayton (Thorson) went down (late in the first quarter). I was glad we were able to do that."
JUSTIN JACKSON went for 25 on another sweep left just three snaps later and then, in the middle of the third quarter, he swept right for 30 off of similar action. "I thought we had a really good scheme coming out," right guard Matt Frazier will later say. "We had a good idea of what they were going to do and Coach (Mick) McCall (the offensive coordinator) had some great plays to attack the defense at the weak points that we saw.
"Then, from an offensive line's standpoint, we harped on, 'Let's get him (Jackson) running outside. Let's get him in space and allow him to make some guys miss. Give him some big holes.' Personally, I love blocking for him. It's really fun. He makes us look good. We mess up, he can make us right. Then when we do our job, it makes everything easier. It's a great feeling when we see him spring a big run and you've had a key block."
"We had been running it. It's been in our game plan for awhile," Jackson himself says of those sweeps that were so successful against Penn State. "I think the fact that our O linemen are getting more comfortable with it, they're getting a lot more physical, they're staying on blocks, they're getting people down-- that's opening it up a little bit more. Obviously teams are going to be ready for it a little bit more now, and we have counter sets. But I think even if they know what we're doing, if we go out there and execute, I think it's a great play. I love it."
JUSTIN JACKSON helped set up Jack Mitchell's winning field goal last Saturday by rushing for 18 yards on the five snaps that immediately preceded it. Justin Jackson, after totaling just 95 yards on 36 carries in the 'Cats three previous games, ended this one with a career-high 186 yards on 28 carries. Justin Jackson was invisible (to use his word) no longer. "I have a lot of confidence in my line. I think they've been growing a lot and obviously they showed that against a Penn State defensive line that was tops in the country in sacks," he says. "Being able to helps my team again on the ground last week, that was huge for me."
JUSTIN JACKSON, runner, is ready for more. "I actually feel really good," he finally says. "I didn't take too many hits because on plays like that (the sweeps) it's all kind of angle tackles. You're not really getting hit in the chest a lot. So I actually feel fine. I think the bye-week has carried over. That week off was great. It felt like an eternity for your body. It kind of resets you, I want to say to the beginning of the year. But your body's more calloused now, more used to it (the hitting).
"So it's even better."
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