Lamar Jackson Looks Back at His Heisman-Defining Hurdle — SkimNews
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- Lamar Jackson's leap over Syracuse's Cordell Hudson on Sept. 9, 2016 — now memorialized with a midair mannequin wearing his No. 8 jersey in the Louisville football facility — became his Heisman Trophy moment, with Jackson telling ESPN for the first time that he had leg cramps on the play.
- Jackson finished the Syracuse game with 610 total yards (then an ACC record) and five touchdowns, then followed up with 362 yards and five TDs (four on the ground) in a 63-20 home win over then-No. 2 Florida State — the game his teammates actually point to as his best.
- Jackson became the youngest Heisman recipient in history at 19 years, 337 days, tallying 51 total touchdowns that season — still a Louisville and ACC record — and 5,114 yards of total offense including the bowl game.
- Syracuse coach Dino Babers, in 47 years of college football, said he had only seen a player hurdle a defender twice; he was so shaken he told his own coaches he was "embarrassed" and "not happy."
- ESPN commentator Mack Brown, working the broadcast with Adam Amin, said the moment was so overwhelming they "could have gotten in trouble because we could have cussed," and he left the stadium thinking Jackson "may be the best player in the country."
- Louisville teammates Jamari Staples and Traveon Samuel said they were not surprised by the hurdle — Samuel recalled Jackson tore a teammate's ACL in his very first scrimmage, after which he "never went live again."
Why it matters: The hurdle launched Jackson's Heisman run — 51 TDs, still an ACC record — and announced the kind of dual-threat quarterback who now defines the position. Ten years later, he and his teammates revisit a play now immortalized in the Louisville facility as the Cardinals return to Syracuse on the anniversary weekend.
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