Lamar Jackson's Heisman Trophy Triumph: A Legacy Forged at Louisville
Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr., born on January 7, 1997, is an American professional football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). However, before his NFL stardom, Jackson etched his name in college football history with a remarkable career at the University of Louisville, culminating in the prestigious Heisman Trophy in 2016. His journey to the Heisman was marked by electrifying performances, record-breaking statistics, and a captivating playing style that redefined the quarterback position. This article delves into Jackson's Heisman-winning season, exploring the key moments, statistics, and impact that solidified his place as one of college football's all-time greats.
Early Life and High School Career
Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. was born to Felicia Jones and Lamar Jackson Sr. He spent his childhood in an economically distressed area of Pompano Beach, Florida. Tragedy struck when Jackson was eight years old; his father died from a heart attack on the same day his grandmother passed away in 2005. Jackson, along with his younger brother and two younger sisters, was raised by their mother. According to Jackson, it was his mom that encouraged him to play football and was his first coach.
Jackson attended public schools and played Pop Warner football, even playing in the same Florida league with future teammate Marquise Brown. Even at a young age, his talent was evident; he could throw a football 20 yards when he was just eight years old. At age 11 Jackson won the South Florida FYFL Super Bowl. Jackson was the starting quarterback for the Raiders; but he was also the team's safety and place kicker.
Jackson's high school football career started relatively late, not joining a team until his junior year. He attended Santaluces for his first two years before transferring to Boynton Beach High School in Boynton Beach, Florida. There, he excelled as a read-option quarterback, showcasing his ability to both run and throw the ball effectively. He dedicated himself to improving his passing accuracy and decision-making by watching hours of film each week. In two years at Boynton Beach, Jackson threw for 2,263 yards and 31 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
Jackson's last high school game came against a nationally ranked Miami Central High School team during the first round of the 2014 Florida High School Football Playoff 6A tournament.
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Coming out of high school, recruiting companies had differing opinions on the talent of Jackson. ESPN.com and 247Sports rated him as a three-star recruit, while Rivals.com considered him a four-star talent. Despite the disagreement by recruiting companies over his caliber, he received offers from both Power Five schools like Louisville, Florida, Auburn, and Clemson, and mid-major programs like Akron, Western Kentucky, and Marshall. All of the major recruiting companies listed Jackson as a top 20 dual-threat quarterback, with 247Sports ranking him as high as #12. Jackson visited only four schools (Louisville, Florida, Nebraska, and Mississippi State), and, after it appeared he might sign with Florida, Jackson ultimately committed to the University of Louisville.
Arrival at Louisville and Freshman Season
As a freshman at Louisville in 2015 (he was a communications major), Jackson played in 12 games and made eight starts in the Cardinals' 8-5 season. One of those starts was Louisville's first game of the season against #6 Auburn. On the first play of the game, Jackson threw an interception and Louisville ultimately lost that game 31-24 with Jackson rushing for 106 yards.
Jackson's first college game saw him complete 9-of-20 passes for 100 yards and an interception. He ran for more yards than he threw for, with 106 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts. He had five games with at least 100 rushing yards in 12 games as a freshman, capped off by a 227-passing yards, 226-rushing yard, four-total touchdown performance against Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl.
His first season in Louisville was nothing to write home about and gave his critics a lot of ammunition. He played in 12 games, throwing 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions during his freshman campaign. His running ability shined, rushing for 960 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Jackson did show flashes, especially in the Music City Bowl held in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. In a matchup against Texas A&M, Jackson set a Music City Bowl record with 226 yards on the ground.
The Heisman Campaign: 2016 Season
Jackson built on his Music City Bowl success with a Heisman Trophy-winning campaign in 2016, which started with eight total touchdowns against Charlotte in Louisville's season-opener. The Heisman campaign started immediately the next season. In Louisville’s first game, Jackson set a school record with eight total touchdowns. The dual-threat was electric, and it didn’t matter to the opponent. The next game, Jackson and the Cardinals traveled to Syracuse and dominated them.
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His first true test was when Florida State, who were ranked No. 2 in the country and had future multi-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook, came to town. Shocking everyone, the Cardinals blew them out, much thanks to Jackson rushing for 146 yards and reaching the end zone four times. Against #2 Florida State, Jackson completed 13-of-20 passes for 216 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in addition to 146 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He scored four of the five total touchdowns in the first half in a 63-20 rout of the Seminoles, the most points that the Seminoles had ever surrendered at the time. This game made Jackson the Heisman favorite and moved Louisville up to No.
Jackson had 417 passing yards and five touchdowns, along with 62 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against Marshall.
Against #5 Clemson, Louisville's offense totaled 586 yards, with Jackson accounting for 295 passing yards, 162 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns (one passing, two rushing). He finished with 3,543 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, and nine interceptions to go along with an absurd 1,571 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns.
Heisman Presentation and Award
NEW YORK -- Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson entered this season as a relative unknown, with more than one hurdle to clear. He'll exit it with the Heisman Trophy. Jackson capped his remarkable rise with the first Heisman Trophy in school history, having wowed enough voters -- despite losses in his final two games -- with 51 total touchdowns and 4,928 total yards. What Jackson accomplished in 2016 goes down as the greatest season ever at Louisville, a school where Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas starred in the 1950s.
"To be able to stand up here with all the former winners, I'm extremely proud to represent this class and Louisville as their first Heisman Trophy winner," said Jackson, who wore a Louisville-red velvet blazer with shiny black lapels. "For my teammates, it's an award for all of us. I can't wait to cherish it with all of you."
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Jackson won the award with 2,144 points; Deshaun Watson finished second with 1,524. Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield (361 points), Sooners running back Dede Westbrook (209) and Michigan all-around star Jabrill Peppers (208) placed third through fifth, respectively. Jackson received 79.5 percent of possible points received, the fifth-highest total in the past 50 seasons of Heisman voting, while the gap between Watson and Mayfield was the largest in the past 70 years.
Jackson became the youngest player to win the Heisman at 19 years, 337 days -- just five days younger than 2013 winner Jameis Winston -- and he is just the fourth sophomore to take home the trophy. He joins Johnny Manziel (2012) as the only Heisman winners to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy in 14 of the past 16 years.
When he heard his name called, Jackson said his heart started racing. "Man, I almost cried," he said. "To hear my name called with all those great players, I was overwhelmed." Jackson had a speech prepared, but he stopped at various points to say, "This is crazy." He got through the written portions while also improvising, saying his speech "started coming from the heart."
"To be the first person from Louisville to win it, it's an honor," he said. "I'm humbled." His coach, Bobby Petrino, said after the ceremony that he was "very nervous" for his quarterback. "I had no idea how the vote was going to come out," Petrino said. "I want you to know how proud I am of Lamar. He's a young man that prepared extremely hard, went out on the field and played as hard as he possibly could and did a great job being a leader for this football team."
Jackson credited his mother, Felicia Jones, and said the trophy will go anywhere she decides to put it. Jones raised Jackson as a single mom and would put on football pads to help her son work on his game when he was a kid. "Everything I do is for my mother," Jackson said Saturday.
Statistical Dominance
Jackson was the best offensive player in college football this season. Among quarterbacks, he ran for an FBS-best 1,538 yards, rushed for 21 touchdowns (second in FBS), had 4,928 yards of total offense (second) and posted a Total QBR of 86.6 (third). He is the first Heisman winner to play on a team that lost its final two games of the regular season since Tim Brown of Notre Dame in 1987. He is the first to enter the postseason without a chance to win the national title since Manziel of Texas A&M in 2012.
Jackson is the third player in FBS history -- joining Cam Newton and Tim Tebow -- with 30 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in a season. He set ACC and school records for touchdowns responsible (51) in a season and yards in a single game (610, vs. Syracuse), plus school records for most single-season rushing yards (1,538) and most touchdowns in a single game (eight), and he became the first quarterback in school history with a 1,000-yard rushing season.
Junior Season and NFL Draft
The following season, he finished third in Heisman voting, despite his number being arguably better than the previous year, losing out to quarterback Baker Mayfield. In his junior season, Jackson opened the season with three consecutive 300-plus-yard performances against Purdue (378 yards, two touchdowns), North Carolina (393 yards, three touchdowns) and Clemson (317 yards, three touchdowns, one interception). He finished the 2017 season on a streak of seven games with at least 100 rushing yards, including five with at least 150 yards.
On January 5, 2018, Jackson announced that he would enter the 2018 NFL draft. More discussions about Jackson’s position came up during the draft process, with some analysts suggesting that the dual-threat quarterback should switch positions due to his athleticism, but Jackson shut down those ideas. Many draft pundits doubted Jackson's quarterback abilities and suggested that he switch positions to wide receiver due to his athleticism, but Jackson remained adamant about his intention to play quarterback professionally.
NFL Career
Jackson played sparingly to start during his rookie season, in short stints during blowout games. But when Flacco went down with a hip injury midway through the season, he took the reins and ran with them. The Ravens finished the season 6-1 with Jackson under center.
Taking the field on the day before his 22nd birthday, Jackson became the youngest quarterback to start an NFL playoff game in a Wild Card rematch against the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite being held to just 25 passing yards at one point in the fourth quarter by a stout Chargers defense, Jackson then passed for two touchdowns in four minutes to bring the Ravens back from a 20-point deficit to within a touchdown. After forcing the Chargers to punt with less than a minute left, the Ravens had one last chance to win the game down six points, but Jackson was strip-sacked by Chargers linebacker Uchenna Nwosu. With the Chargers recovering the ball, the Ravens lost 23-17 and were knocked out of the playoffs.
Once the 2018 season ended, the Ravens' coaching staff decided to abandon the offensive strategy that had been designed for Joe Flacco and create a new offensive philosophy centered around the specific skills of Jackson.
During a Week 4 40-25 loss to the Cleveland Browns, Jackson threw for 247 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions while also rushing for 66 yards. In the next game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jackson completed 19-of-28 passes for 161 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions as the Ravens won by a score of 26-23 in overtime. The following week against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson finished with 236 passing yards, 152 rushing yards, and a rushing touchdown during the 23-17 victory. He also became the first player in NFL history to pass for more than 200 yards and rush for 150 yards in a regular-season game, and had more rushing yards than any player at any position in Week 6.
During a Week 7 30-16 road victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Jackson finished with 143 passing yards and 116 rushing yards with a rushing touchdown. After a Week 8 bye, the Ravens faced the unbeaten New England Patriots. In the next game, the Ravens routed the Bengals on the road 49-13 with Jackson throwing for 223 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for 65 yards and a touchdown, finishing with a perfect passer rating. During a Week 14 24-17 road victory against the Buffalo Bills, he had 145 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception to go along with 40 rushing yards. Jackson also became the first quarterback since Michael Vick to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. In the next game against the New York Jets, Jackson had 212 passing yards for five touchdowns to go along with eight carries for 86 yards during the 42-21 victory, breaking Vick's single-season rushing record for a quarterback. Jackson's five passing touchdowns in the game made him the sixth player since the merger to have three games with at least five passing touchdowns in a season, and tied the Ravens franchise season record with 33. Jackson was named AFC Player of the Week for his performance against the Jets. The following week against the Browns, Jackson was held to 38 passing yards and a lost fumble in the first 28 minutes, before exploding for 142 yards and two touchdowns in the last two minutes before halftime.
Jackson was the starting quarterback at the 2020 Pro Bowl in Orlando, Florida. He threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns with one interception and was named the offensive Most Valuable Player. In the Divisional Round against the Tennessee Titans, Jackson and the Ravens were unable to replicate the same success that they had in the regular season, losing 28-12. Jackson finished the game completing 31-of-59 passes for 365 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions while also losing a fumble on a strip sack.
Jackson made his return in Week 13 against the Dallas Cowboys. During the game, Jackson threw for 107 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception and rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown in the 34-17 victory. In the next game, Jackson set an NFL record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback on Monday Night Football as he rushed for 124 yards in a thriller against the Browns. However, Jackson then left the game late in the third quarter due to leg cramps. He was out of the game for most of the fourth quarter, and Cleveland was able to come back from 14-down and take a 35-34 lead. After backup Trace McSorley suffered a left knee sprain with two minutes left in regulation, Jackson re-entered the game and, on 4th down and 5, threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Brown. In the Wild Card Round, Jackson won his first career playoff game by defeating the Tennessee Titans in a rematch of the previous year's Divisional Round matchup.
During a Week 5 31-25 overtime victory the Indianapolis Colts, Jackson threw for a career-high and Ravens franchise record 442 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for 62 yards, helping the Ravens erase a 19-point deficit. He also became the first quarterback to have a 85%+ completion rate while throwing 40+ passes. Ravens coach John Harbaugh called it one of the greatest performances he had ever seen. In the next game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Jackson set the record for the most victories as a starting quarterback under the age of 25 at 35 in 34-6 blowout victory. During a Week 12 16-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns, Jackson threw for 165 yards, a touchdown, a career high four interceptions. Two weeks later against the Browns, Jackson left the eventual narrow 24-22 loss in the first quarter after suffered an ankle injury when he was hit by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Jackson turned down a contract extension due to his belief that he could improve and earn more.
During a Week 2 42-38 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Jackson threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 119 yards and a touchdown. In the game, Jackson surpassed Michael Vick for the most 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback. For the first month of the 2022 NFL season, Jackson led the league in quarterback rating (119.0) and passing touchdowns (10). Jackson also ran for two touchdowns. His 12 combined touchdowns were more than the number of touchdowns scored by 30 NFL teams to that point in the season.
On September 17, 2023, Jackson and the Ravens faced off against the previous season's AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals. Jackson completed 24-of-33 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 54 yards as the Ravens won 27-24. During a Week 7 38-6 victory over the Detroit Lions, Jackson threw for a season high 357 yards and three touchdowns, compiling a near perfect 155.8 passer rating. He also ran for 36 yards and a touchdown which earned him the AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. During a Week 12 20-10 road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, Jackson ran for 39 yards to reach 5,000 career rushing yards, joining Michael Vick, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to achieve 5,000 career rushing yards.
On January 3, 2024, the Ravens announced that Jackson would be inactive for the final game of the regular season. He finished the regular season with career highs in pass completions, completion percentage, and passing yards. Jackson won his second NFL MVP in a near-unanimous decision, receiving 49 of 50 first-place votes. During the Divisional Round against the Houston Texans, Jackson accounted for all four of the Ravens' touchdowns and led Baltimore to a 34-10 victory, clinching their first AFC Championship Game appearance since 2012. Jackson scored two of those touchdowns with his legs, running for a total of 100 yards on 11 carries, and completed 16-of-22 passes for 152 yards with a passer rating of 121.8.
At home against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, Jackson completed 20-of-37 passes for 272 yards with one touchdown and rushed eight times for 54 yards. One of the completed passes was batted into the air and caught by Jackson himself who went for 14 yards. The play was named best play at the 2024 ESPY Awards.
In Week 9 against the Broncos, Jackson recorded a perfect passer rating for the fourth time in his career, completing 16-of-19 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-10 victory. He became the first player in league history to have four perfect games with at least 15 passing attempts. Against the Bengals in Week 10, Jackson had the best fourth quarter performance of his career, throwing for 197 yards, three touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating in the final quarter as he rallied the Ravens from a 14-point deficit to win 35-34.
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