Colorado State University Athletics
What We Saw: Jackson Surpasses Elite Group
11/3/2019 12:00:00 PM | Football
Special team play key role in win
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Warren Jackson was as good as ever. He was still humble as always, too.
The junior has been lumped in with the likes of Rashard Higgins, Michael Gallup, Olabisi Johnson and Preston Williams since the start of the season. The Next in Line, he heard.
He didn't really care, but his current four-game run is as good as any of those before him. Check that, better than all of them.
His 657 yards the past four contests is a better stretch than any of the Rams' prior greats ever assembled, with a 644-yard stretch by Gallup in 2017 the closest output. Higgins' 38 catches in 2014 top the 36 Jackson has snatched.
"Really? Oh, wow. It feels really good," Jackson said. "Just playing behind those guys and watching the whole process of what it takes, it's kind of eye-opening on how it's coming up on me now. I really enjoy it, I'm happy, but more than anything, I'm just glad I can help this team win.
"But to do that in the same process feels really good."
The weird part is Jackson didn't find the end zone, which he had done four times in the three games prior. The Rams' touchdowns came on the ground, but that didn't mean Jackson didn't do his part. His six-catch, 133-yard effort against UNLV on Saturday came chock-full of big plays to produce first downs and keep the sticks moving.
He highlighted it with a 41-yarder, just him in one-on-one coverage on the sideline, reaching up and high-pointing a ball while keeping a foot in play in front of another stunned defensive back.
Everybody in the darn stadium knows who the ball is going to, it just doesn't seem to matter.
"It feels really good to know you have the talent you can help somebody," Jackson said. "We go through that in practice, and coach (Mike Bobo) draw some plays up for me on third downs. I feel really good I can do my thing to help my football team."
Remember, before the stretch, he was out of action with an injury. Remember what the offense looked like then?
It looks much better after a win, after a record, on a week he joined the others in the Biletnikoff watch-list club.
Special Performance
He had sensed one coming earlier in the year, but Saturday, as he took the opening kick up field, Anthony Hawkins could actually see it happening.
"I mean, way to start fast," Hawkins said. "Coach said, 'it's going to be there,' and he said when it's there, just hit it. I felt like the hole opened up wide. It took all 11 men to do something like that. Each blocker helped me spring that."
The 99-yard kickoff return for a score matched the second longest in program history, and it was the first by a Ram in Canvas Stadium history. The last time a Ram broke one off, it was Kevin Nutt Jr. on the road at Fresno State in 2015.
The play from the third phase was strong all day, returns and kicking included.
"Today we had a kickoff return, and I really liked how the guys settled in and continued to play. They weren't taking anything for granted and it kept the pressure on them on both sides of the ball, which was good to see," CSU head coach Mike Bobo said. "We were close to breaking some of those punt returns, as well. But our goal is always get one first down on a punt return, and I think we might have averaged that today with Dante at (four returns, 61 yards). So, those were some hidden yards that were good."
Wright had a long of 27 yards on punt returns, Ryan Stonehouse averaged 46.5 yards per kick and put both inside the 20 and – most glorious of all – the Rams made all three field goals they attempted, including a 50-yarder by Cayden Camper.
It all started off with Hawkins' return, and he made sure not to have his chance go down in flames.
"When I saw the kicker … If it's me one-on-one with the kicker, that's what I got my scholarship for," Hawkins said. "When you see him, you have to put it on the other side. If you get tackled by the kicker, that's the worst nightmare."
Bye Week, Part II
Colorado State picks up its second bye week after the win, and it will give the Rams a chance to rest heading into a crucial stretch with Air Force, Wyoming and Boise State, three teams who are already bowl-eligible.
Having two of them so close together should prove even more beneficial, the players believe.
"It's very big. We're going to get players back healthy, and we get to rest," safety Jamal Hicks said. "This is the best my body has felt after the ninth game."
The week gives the defense extra sessions to prepare for the Falcons options, always helpful, the timing of which didn't bother Bobo.
As it sits, the defense is already feeling pretty good off its best four-game stretch in eight seasons, giving them a chance to really hone in on the discipline it will require at home in two weeks.
"Our confidence, it's probably at an all-time high, but we try not to let our highs get to high or our lows too low," defensive end Jalen Bates said. "We try to keep it dead even, keep our head down and keep working."
The junior has been lumped in with the likes of Rashard Higgins, Michael Gallup, Olabisi Johnson and Preston Williams since the start of the season. The Next in Line, he heard.
He didn't really care, but his current four-game run is as good as any of those before him. Check that, better than all of them.
His 657 yards the past four contests is a better stretch than any of the Rams' prior greats ever assembled, with a 644-yard stretch by Gallup in 2017 the closest output. Higgins' 38 catches in 2014 top the 36 Jackson has snatched.
"Really? Oh, wow. It feels really good," Jackson said. "Just playing behind those guys and watching the whole process of what it takes, it's kind of eye-opening on how it's coming up on me now. I really enjoy it, I'm happy, but more than anything, I'm just glad I can help this team win.
"But to do that in the same process feels really good."
The weird part is Jackson didn't find the end zone, which he had done four times in the three games prior. The Rams' touchdowns came on the ground, but that didn't mean Jackson didn't do his part. His six-catch, 133-yard effort against UNLV on Saturday came chock-full of big plays to produce first downs and keep the sticks moving.
He highlighted it with a 41-yarder, just him in one-on-one coverage on the sideline, reaching up and high-pointing a ball while keeping a foot in play in front of another stunned defensive back.
Everybody in the darn stadium knows who the ball is going to, it just doesn't seem to matter.
"It feels really good to know you have the talent you can help somebody," Jackson said. "We go through that in practice, and coach (Mike Bobo) draw some plays up for me on third downs. I feel really good I can do my thing to help my football team."
Remember, before the stretch, he was out of action with an injury. Remember what the offense looked like then?
It looks much better after a win, after a record, on a week he joined the others in the Biletnikoff watch-list club.
Special Performance
He had sensed one coming earlier in the year, but Saturday, as he took the opening kick up field, Anthony Hawkins could actually see it happening.
"I mean, way to start fast," Hawkins said. "Coach said, 'it's going to be there,' and he said when it's there, just hit it. I felt like the hole opened up wide. It took all 11 men to do something like that. Each blocker helped me spring that."
The 99-yard kickoff return for a score matched the second longest in program history, and it was the first by a Ram in Canvas Stadium history. The last time a Ram broke one off, it was Kevin Nutt Jr. on the road at Fresno State in 2015.
The play from the third phase was strong all day, returns and kicking included.
"Today we had a kickoff return, and I really liked how the guys settled in and continued to play. They weren't taking anything for granted and it kept the pressure on them on both sides of the ball, which was good to see," CSU head coach Mike Bobo said. "We were close to breaking some of those punt returns, as well. But our goal is always get one first down on a punt return, and I think we might have averaged that today with Dante at (four returns, 61 yards). So, those were some hidden yards that were good."
Wright had a long of 27 yards on punt returns, Ryan Stonehouse averaged 46.5 yards per kick and put both inside the 20 and – most glorious of all – the Rams made all three field goals they attempted, including a 50-yarder by Cayden Camper.
It all started off with Hawkins' return, and he made sure not to have his chance go down in flames.
"When I saw the kicker … If it's me one-on-one with the kicker, that's what I got my scholarship for," Hawkins said. "When you see him, you have to put it on the other side. If you get tackled by the kicker, that's the worst nightmare."
Bye Week, Part II
Colorado State picks up its second bye week after the win, and it will give the Rams a chance to rest heading into a crucial stretch with Air Force, Wyoming and Boise State, three teams who are already bowl-eligible.
Having two of them so close together should prove even more beneficial, the players believe.
"It's very big. We're going to get players back healthy, and we get to rest," safety Jamal Hicks said. "This is the best my body has felt after the ninth game."
The week gives the defense extra sessions to prepare for the Falcons options, always helpful, the timing of which didn't bother Bobo.
As it sits, the defense is already feeling pretty good off its best four-game stretch in eight seasons, giving them a chance to really hone in on the discipline it will require at home in two weeks.
"Our confidence, it's probably at an all-time high, but we try not to let our highs get to high or our lows too low," defensive end Jalen Bates said. "We try to keep it dead even, keep our head down and keep working."
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