Since entering the league in 2018, Lamar Jackson has become one of the most dynamic and polarizing quarterbacks of the modern era. His dynamic style of play didn’t begin with the NFL, however.
Jackson was one of the best college football players of his time, and his Heisman trophy-winning season in 2016 is one for the ages. Let’s take a look back at Jackson’s Heisman-worthy college career.
Where Did Lamar Jackson Play College Football?
Born Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. on Jan. 7, 1997, the two-time NFL MVP and Heisman winner chose to attend the University of Louisville after a stellar high school campaign at Boynton Beach High School in Florida. Although recruiting services were split on Jackson’s rating, he still had offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Nebraska, and others before ultimately settling on the Louisville Cardinals.
Jackson was relatively unknown as an athlete since he didn’t begin playing football until his junior year after transferring to Boynton Beach from Santaluces High School. At the school, he went “viral” after scoring a touchdown against Village Academy.
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In the now-famed video, Jackson evaded the rush, rolling out to the right and pump-faked a defender as he sped toward the end zone. With a defender closing in as Jackson neared the pylon, he stopped on a dime, allowing the defender to slip past him, and then walked into the end zone as if the play was simply routine.
With his legend as an athlete now cemented, multiple schools tried to recruit Jackson as an all-around athlete. Despite the variance in his overall rating, every service listed him among the top 20 dual-threat quarterbacks nationally, even listing him as high as No. 12 by 247 Sports.
While it appeared early on in his recruiting process that Jackson was going to stay in-state and head to Florida, it was Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino who convinced him to play for the Cardinals after he told Jackson’s mother that he would play quarterback and nothing else.
Jackson’s college career got off to an auspicious start. Starting against Auburn, he threw an interception on the very first play of the first game of the season. Louisville would go on to lose that game by a score of 31-24, with Jackson starting eight games total that year despite playing in all 12.
It was his sophomore season that unleashed the electric play for which Jackson has become known. In stark contrast to his first game as a freshman, Jackson scored eight total touchdowns — in the first half!! — of a game against the Charlotte 49ers, setting a school record in the process.
Jackson went on to have a phenomenal season, with standout victories over then-ranked No. 2 Florida State, in which he threw for 216 yards and a touchdown while running for 146 yards and four scores. That game pushed Jackson to the forefront as a Heisman contender and gave the Cardinals their highest national ranking to that point (No. 3).
Against Syracuse, Jackson threw for 411 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 199 yards and four more scores. Again, all five scores came within the first half, including one highlight-worthy scamper where he hurdled a Syracuse defender as he crossed the end zone.
Jackson’s Heisman-clinching game may have come against No. 5 Clemson, however. He accounted for 295 yards passing, 162 yards rushing, and three total touchdowns as the Cardinals amassed 586 total yards of offense in an eventual loss by a score of 42-36.
Despite the loss, the grit and determination of Jackson’s Cardinals team on the road was touted as a major positive.
Jackson’s 2016 campaign netted him a plethora of awards. He won the Walter Camp Award as the Player of the Year and the Maxwell Award as the best all-around player in college football before heading to the Downtown Athletic Club in New York as a Heisman trophy finalist.
Beating out Baker Mayfield, Deshaun Watson, Dede Westbrook, and Jabril Peppers, Jackson became the youngest-ever Heisman winner at the ripe age of 19 years and 337 days.
The following season came with tremendous pressure and expectations, and Jackson lived up to the call. His numbers improved almost across the board, and he finished the year with 27 passing touchdowns and 18 rushing.
Jackson’s third-place finish in the Heisman voting came behind runner-up Bryce Love from Stanford and winner Mayfield of Oklahoma. The Cardinals finished the year at 8-5, mostly behind Jackson’s outstanding play in his final campaign as a college athlete.
Despite being a late bloomer, Jackson has continued to grow and improve as a player on the field, as well as off it. He established a charitable organization called the Forever Dreamers Foundation, which is dedicated to “the surety of teaching, empowering, and encouraging our youth to be the best version of themselves.”
Jackson also donated $25,000 to the Louisville chapter of the organization “Blessings in Backpacks,” which received hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from Bills Mafia, a group of Buffalo Bills fans, after Jackson’s Ravens lost to the Bills in the 2021 playoffs.
Whether on the field or off, Jackson continues to wow those who follow his efforts and has cemented his legacy as one of the best to ever play for Louisville, and fans are sure to enjoy the remainder of his career.
Lamar Jackson’s College Football Stats
- Wins: 24
- Losses: 14
- Pass Attempts: 1,086
- Pass Completions: 619
- Completion Percentage: 57.0%
- Passing Yards: 9,043
- Passing Yards Per Attempt: 8.3
- Passing Touchdowns: 69
- Interceptions: 27
- Rush Attempts: 655
- Rushing Yards: 4,132
- Rushing Touchdowns: 50
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