Husker Football Notes, 10/25: Jackson separates himself among backs
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Nebraska junior running back Brandon Jackson remains listed as co-No. 2 on the depth chart.
That evidently means very little, judging by the fact he’s started the Huskers’ last three games, and by comments Tuesday by NU offensive coordinator Jay Norvell.
“He’s really kind of separated himself I think, the way that he’s played,” Norvell said. “He’s made a lot of big plays the last three weeks.”
In Nebraska’s 22-20 loss Saturday to No. 5 Texas, Jackson ran seven times for 40 yards and caught two passes for 77 yards. He’s run for 248 yards in the Huskers’ last three games.
“When you play well, you get more opportunities,” Norvell said. “That’s what’s going to happen to Brandon. If he keeps playing the way he played Saturday and the last couple of weeks, you’ll probably see a lot of him.”
Jackson said all four running backs — he, Marlon Lucky, Cody Glenn and Kenny Wilson — will still contribute.
“Like Coach (Randy) Jordan says, it’s still a running back by committee,” Jackson said. “Whoever has the momentum, he says he’ll leave him in. I have the momentum right now.”
Jackson’s highlight against Texas was a 49-yard touchdown jaunt off a shovel pass from Zac Taylor.
“I saw one guy, and he was trying to bait me inside, trying to shake and see which way I was going to go,” Jackson said. “I just hit the gas right there, because I knew he was kind of hesitant on attacking me. I broke that tackle, then I did a little hesitation move on the other back, and he dove in my lane, and he missed. It was off to the races.”
He had help, with key blocks from Nate Swift, Terrence Nunn and Dane Todd.
“I saw Nate Swift go down and cut the corner, and T-Nunn, he contained his guy, and I saw Dane rear back and hit the two D-ends that were trying to chase me down.”
TIMEOUT: Callahan gave a general response of “we can always be better” when asked about Nebraska’s use of timeouts in the final minute of the Texas game. With three timeouts remaining, coaches waited until after a second-and-goal play to use their first timeout, then used their second timeout after the clock had already stopped on an incompletion. “I think we can always go back to that game,” Callahan said. “We can coach it better, we can play it better. We can do a lot of things better. It’s in the past.”
RETURN MEN: Noting he doesn’t want to give up field position, Callahan said coaches will “work everybody” in the punt return game this week. Nebraska lost valuable field position against Texas when Nunn didn’t field at least two punts, one of which rolled inside the Nebraska 1-yard line. Swift then replaced Nunn and fielded two punts. “We’ll look at everybody,” Callahan said. “Fielding decisions become real, real crucial. They’ve been pointed out to all of our players.” Callahan also noted the challenges of fielding punts in Memorial Stadium when it’s windy, as was the case Saturday. “You’ve got to be prepared to handle the bad ball,” Callahan said. “There are some balls that get hot and you just can’t get to. And there are some other ones you’ve got to make a confident decision on and go get it. We left a lot of yardage on the field Saturday.” Nebraska ranks 57th nationally and eighth in the Big 12 in punt returns, with an average of 8.79 yards per return.
SITTING NO OPTION: Middle linebacker Corey McKeon played the entire Texas game despite the fact he was still recovering from a severe ankle sprain the previous week against Kansas State. “Nothing’s going to stop me from playing. I don’t care if they cut my ankle off,” McKeon said. “You don’t sit games. You don’t take plays off. That’s just not what we do.” McKeon, who referenced his injury as a “cheap shot from behind,” said he sprained his ankle on three different levels. “I’ve got the high, the medium and the low,” he said. “It’s kind of annoying.”
REPLAY: Moore said he didn’t wait long to watch the replay of the Texas game. He did so when he got home Saturday night. “You know what? It wasn’t too difficult that night,” Moore said. “It really didn’t hit me yet until Sunday morning. It wasn’t too hard.” Then again, Moore didn’t watch the entire game. “I stopped it right before they got that last drive,” he said. “I didn’t want to see that again.”
ETC.: Taylor originally committed to Oklahoma State out of high school. A Norman, Okla., native, he’s playing his first collegiate game in his home state. … Oklahoma State is the least-penalized team in the Big 12 Conference, and the Cowboys lead the nation in kickoff returns (30.37 yards per return).
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