Clock is Ticking
August 12, 2004 01:49 PM | General
August 12, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The clock is ticking on Eddie Jackson’s career. The senior has just one final opportunity to shine on college football’s biggest stage before the lights go out.
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| Eddie Jackson is looking for a big senior year in 2004 (WVU Sports Communications) |
“I know that this is my last chance and if I don’t do anything then it’s a wrap,” he says.
The Columbus, Ohio, native’s gypsy-like college career has taken him to Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College for two seasons and then to the University of Washington for another year where he made a last-minute commitment to play for the Huskies.
“I was actually going to come here but things changed and I went out to Washington,” said Jackson.
Eddie caught 16 passes for 152 yards at UW in 2002 but eventually became disenchanted with the distance away from home and realized that it was probably better for him playing at a school like West Virginia University.
“I got a fair shot there. I just didn’t get the shot that I wanted. Plus, it was far from home and I wanted to get back this way,” Jackson said.
Jackson knew he was going to leave Washington but he wasn’t interested in dropping down a level to play immediately. “I wanted to play D-I football. If I could show what I could do then why not sit out a year?” he said.
So he called up assistant coach Tony Gibson once again and asked if there were any spots open for him on the WVU roster. Jackson felt comfortable with the coaching staff and didn’t really care if the Mountaineers were deep at wide receiver.
“I was just trying to find somewhere to play,” he said.
As it turned out, West Virginia wasn’t that deep at wide receiver. Head coach Rich Rodriguez often utilizes four-receiver sets and after the transition from the Don Nehlen era, he wasn’t left with an abundance of wideouts to work with.
Jackson’s size (6-foot-4 and 225 pounds) and his decent speed make him a good fit as a slot receiver. His size can enable him to catch the ball over the middle and also block down on much bigger linebackers.
Jackson admits that blocking is just as important as catching the football in Rodriguez’ system. “Blocking is the main thing,” he said. “Blocking is probably the key to a receiver succeeding in any offense.”
However, Eddie believes his biggest hurdle has been learning a West Virginia playbook that is thicker than a New York City phone book.
“It’s just about getting into your playbook and learning. It’s not hard. You can’t think: you’ve just got to study,” he said.
By learning the offense better, Jackson says that will free him up to showcase his natural talents on the field.
“I don’t feel as much pressure now as I did in the spring now that I know the offense a little better. I’m not thinking as much. Now I can just go out there and play,” he said.
But that hasn’t necessarily been the case during the first week of fall camp. Jackson has been slowed the past couple of days with a nagging hamstring problem, forcing him to watch on the sidelines in a red jersey.
Not having Jackson on the field is a concern for Rodriguez. “We have a long time before we play but this is an important time for them as far as getting reps. And Eddie is one of those guys who needs the reps,” he said.
Rodriguez has other concerns with the receiver corps. Talented junior Chris Henry has drawn the ire of Rodriguez in the past for inconsistency in practice. Others have also not always stepped up to meet the coach’s high expectations.
To compensate, Rodriguez moved defensive back Joe Hunter to wide receiver and is also giving quarterback Charles Hales more reps.
“He’s such a smart guy that once you teach him how to run a route a certain way he’ll remember it the next time,” said Rodriguez of Hales. “He’s going to play wide receiver … you can bank on that right now.”
According to Rodriguez, playing Hales isn’t just a way to get the attention of the rest of the receiver corps either.
“(Hales) could be one of our top three or four wideouts,” said the coach. “He may have the best hands on the team. That and the fact that he knows what he’s doing. What I like about him is that he really competes. He takes blocking seriously. He runs the right routes and he’s going to understand probably better than any other receiver exactly what we’re trying to do with a pass play or a run play because he knows our offense.”
Having a firm knowledge of the offense is something Eddie Jackson must achieve before the end of fall camp. But as Rodriguez likes to say, “You can’t make the club sitting in the tub.”
With the clock ticking on his college football career, Jackson knows that he is going to have to heal quickly. “The receivers have a lot to prove: everybody has a lot to prove,” he says.
Random Camp Notes:
