- September 20th, 2006, 8:30 am
#30884
LU wide receiver blames himself for loss at Towson
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 19, 2006
Danny Jackson's advice to his son was simple: Don't let one bad game get you down.
Wynton Jackson needed the comfort. Liberty's normally reliable junior receiver had dropped one sure touchdown pass in a 10-3 loss to Towson last Saturday and let two other completions slip through his fingers.
Naturally, he wasn't very happy about the performance.
So he called home to Jacksonville, Fla., to talk to his father, a former Texas A&M standout who played one season with the NFL's Houston Oilers.
"He said that I just had to put it away," Wynton said. "I had to put it past me. It's a new day."
Jackson was able to shake off Saturday's misfortune, but he was more worried that his teammates had lost confidence in him.
He apologized profusely to quarterback Brock Smith, who would hear none of it.
"So many times, he's come up to me, but I'm like, 'Wynton, it's not a big deal,'" Smith said. "I know he's not going to do it again. It's over with."
Said Liberty receivers coach Charlie Skalaski: "He won't drop three balls the rest of the year. I'll make that prediction right now."
Liberty coach Danny Rocco appreciated the candor Jackson displayed Saturday night after the defeat. Jackson vowed to catch 100 balls at practice the next week and took full responsibility for his struggles. He didn't make excuses or look for scapegoats.
His struggles provided an impetus for harder work, anything to erase the memory of the Towson game and get better.
"He certainly took it all on his shoulders and took full responsibility for the fact that he had a chance to make some plays and didn't," Rocco said.
Jackson's selflessness showed that he is much more than just one of Liberty's top playmakers, whether he's catching deep passes or returning kickoffs (he's ranked 15th in Division I-AA in kick return average).
Along with junior Brandon Turner, Jackson has become a valuable mentor for up-and-coming
receivers Dominic Bolden and Cedric Sanderson.
"He's one of the guys you can look up to as a receiver," Bolden said.
The maturity wasn't readily apparent when Jackson arrived in Lynchburg after a successful prep career at Jacksonville's Wolfson High School. As a senior, Jackson caught 50 passes for 780 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. Florida, Wake Forest and Cincinnati were interested, but none wanted to offer a full scholarship.
Skalaski was impressed with Jackson's raw talent. But Jackson struggled early with the physicality of the college game, and his work ethic wasn't the best.
"Now, he logs a lot of miles in practice," Skalaski said. "I rode him hard for a couple of years, but I don't know what made the light turn on with him. I told him that I was going to ride him harder than some guys because he has more ability than some guys."
Jackson caught 20 passes for 252 yards and one score as a freshman. All three totals increased last season as Jackson became a go-to target for quarterbacks Smith and Brock Farrel. He finished with 37 receptions for 511 yards and three touchdowns, including a two-score game at Charleston Southern.
"When I came here as a freshman, I did enough to just get by," Jackson said. "But (Skalaski) was on me tough, telling me I could do stuff a lot better. The harder he was on me, the more I went along with it."
Jackson has embraced the physical nature of the game, so much so that he says he the most fun part of playing receiver is overpowering a defensive back at the line of scrimmage. That allows him to gain a precious one- or two-step advantage on his marker, and with Jackson's fluid speed and agility, that's usually enough to get open.
Once open, his shiftiness and elusiveness come into play.
"He has the ability to make people miss and turn a bad situation into a good play," Rocco said.
Of course, the receiver has to catch the ball first. Humbled after a tough week, Jackson won't take catches for granted anymore. He vows increased focus, to concentrate on the catch before the run.
"I just had to come out and practice (this week)," Jackson said.
"I can't keep that (one bad game) on me. I couldn't let it hold me down."
- By Tothehoopyall1
- By Purple Haize