At the time, Justin Jackson's eight-yard gain in the third quarter of a loss to Minnesota in October 2014 just seemed like a nice run from a freshman running back. It was a perfect foreshadowing of what Northwestern fans could expect from the best running back in program history.
Jackson took the handoff and was immediately bottled up at the line of scrimmage by pressure from Gophers' linebacker Jack Lynn. No worries. He reversed course, cut back and picked up eight yards on the play, hitting the ground nine yards after he was first contacted.
Three years later, Justin Jackson is still running, and usually doing so after contact.
In 2016, more than 70 percent of his Big Ten-leading 1,524 rushing yards came after contact (1,071). He had more rushing yards and yards after contact than Penn State's Saquon Barkley, a popular 2017 Heisman Trophy pick, and every other running back in the country who is returning this season.
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In fact, as noted by Pro Football Focus, Barkley had 178 more rushing yards after contact than Barkley or any other returning player. He averaged 3.6 yards after carry per attempt, compared to Barkley's 3.3.
Northwestern RB Justin Jackson leads all returning running backs this year in yards after contact.
By nearly 200 yards. pic.twitter.com/irMRfljIJc
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) May 23, 2017
Jackson already ranks second in Northwestern history with 4,129 rushing yards. That Oct. 11 game against Minnesota was the second of 20 career 100-yard games, yet he still flies under the national radar, rarely included on Heisman lists and never mentioned in All-American circles.
“We need to do a better job of helping him become a household name,” head coach Pat Fitzgerald said in 2016. “You can’t fault the media. Think about the junior and senior running backs in this league the past few years.”
He won't sniff the all-time FBS rushing record of 6,405 yards set by San Diego State's Donnel Pumphrey last season, but like Pumphrey, he will leave college football as one of the most underrated backs of all time.
