JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There’s no hiding Lamar Jackson.
When No. 24 Mississippi State (8-4) watches Louisville (8-4) on film as it prepares for the TaxSlayer Bowl, Louisville’s star quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner stands out. MSU gets its crack at Jackson 11 a.m. Saturday (ESPN) at EverBank Field, and may be up against a version of Jackson that’s better than the one that won the Heisman.
“We’re playing a young man from Louisville that’s really, really special,” MSU interim coach Greg Knox said.
MSU runs into Jackson after he’s had a productive year of bettering his abilities as a passer.
Jackson won the 2016 Heisman Trophy after completing 56.2 percent of his passes for a quarterback rating of 148.82; this season, Jackson threw a comparable number of passes but completed 60.4 of them for a quarterback rating of 151.52. The improvement in those two numbers has been no accident.
“He improved a lot as a passer,” Mark Ennis told The Dispatch. Ennis has covered the Cardinals for years and currently hosts The Drive on 93.9FM in Louisville. “Last year, he bailed out of pass plays to quickly and rushed throws when he got under pressure. This year, his completion percentage is up over 60 percent and he really hung in the pocket and made tough throws.”
Ennis said in the spring, Louisville coaches forced Jackson to get in that mind-set with a modification to its drills. When the coaches thought Jackson could have held the ball even as long as an extra half-second and found an open receiver, they would call the play off as soon as he crossed the line of scrimmage. The point was to make Jackson focus on passing on called pass plays and run on called run plays; the results have not disappointed. On top of his improved passing numbers, Jackson remains one of the nation’s best running quarterbacks with 1,443 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Granted, Jackson has yet to face a pass defense quite like MSU’s. MSU’s 30 sacks this season would rank third in the Atlantic Coast Conference that Louisville played in; MSU defensive end Montez Sweat leads the Southeastern Conference with 9.5 sacks.
Sweat said Jackson is probably one of the best quarterback he has faced all season, and he’s not alone in that feeling.
“Personally, it’s going to bring a lot of excitement for me,” MSU defensive tackle and Macon native Jeffery Simmons said. “Rushing him, trying to get some sacks, it’s exciting for me.”
MSU’s bowl itinerary
MSU will be practicing in the morning while it is in Jacksonville. MSU practiced at the University of North Florida Tuesday and will do the same Wednesday and Thursday before Friday’s walkthrough.
Wednesday afternoon, MSU will visit the Mayport Naval Station where players will tour ships, helicopters and interact with sailors on the base. Thursday, MSU’s players will go to TopGolf, where they can play on an interactive driving range featuring several minigames.
After Knox, Louisville coach Bobby Petrino and select players participate in a press conference Friday morning, both teams will visit the Wolfson’s Childrens Hospital before MSU holds a pep rally at 6:30 Friday night at Jacksonville Landing.
Bulldogs earn graduate patches
After the winter graduation ceremonies at MSU, seven Bulldogs will have graduate patches on their jerseys for the TaxSlayer Bowl: long snapper Hunter Bradley, cornerback Tolando Cleveland, quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, wide receiver Donald Gray, linebacker Dez Harris, linebacker Josiah Harris and wide receiver Kareem Vance.
They are part of the 116 players from the Southeastern Conference to wear graduate patches in bowl games.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.