4-star QB commits to Louisville
The University of Louisville beat out a big group of major teams to receive a recruiting commitment on Saturday from four-star Florida quarterback Lamar Jackson, who, according to his coach, makes plays reminiscent of Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel.
Jackson, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound player from Boynton Beach High School, announced his decision on Twitter, picking the Cardinals from a list of offers that included Florida State, Auburn, South Carolina, Ohio State, Nebraska, West Virginia, Georgia and Central Florida. He's rated the nation's No. 9 dual-threat quarterback and the No. 34 player in Florida, according to 247Sports.com.
"You'll see; he's just a tremendous quarterback," Boynton Beach coach Rick Swain said. "I've been coaching 41 years, and I've never had one anywhere close to him."
Jackson is U of L's 15th commitment in the class and its first to be rated four stars by either of 247Sports.com or Rivals.com.
He passed for 1,740 yards and 25 touchdowns and ran for 1,401 yards and 16 TDs last season. He's passed for seven TDs and run for four in two games this season.
"(Jackson) saw the success that Teddy Bridgewater had (at Louisville), and Lamar is very similar to Bridgewater," Swain said. "Obviously, you can't say he's as good as Bridgewater – he was awesome – but they're very similar, and Lamar might, in fact, I know, he has more speed than Bridgewater did. It makes him a true dual-threat quarterback."
U of L's class moved up to No. 39 in the team recruiting rankings of Rivals and No. 41 on 247.
The Cards benefited from Swain's close, longtime relationship with U of L wide receivers coach Lamar Thomas, a Florida native who played for Swain in high school and coached with him for three years after Thomas retired from the NFL.
U of L head coach Bobby Petrino's reputation for molding quarterbacks also intrigued Jackson, who committed without having made a visit to U of L.
"Coaches respect (Petrino) as an offensive genius," Swain said. "We know quarterbacks have always been successful in his system and developing into (where they have) an opportunity to play at the next level. … (Petrino's) system fits (Jackson), and I've got a feeling that Coach Petrino will adapt even more to Lamar's running skills at the collegiate level. But as far as him preparing him to be a pro quarterback, I don't think there's very many (better) in the country."
Swain gushed over the dual-threat ability of Jackson, who has honed his passing accuracy and decision-making to complement his athleticism. He said Jackson also watches hours of film each week and is
"He's always had a tremendous arm," the coach said. "He can sit there and throw the ball 65 yards with no problem at all. The thing he's learned to do is to put touch on the ball, particularly in the short passing game. … He's learned that you can dump it off and get 35 yards, and you don't have to throw it 65 yards every time. I think he's matured into a quarterback in being able to read coverages and be able to understand why things are happening the way they are.
He continued: "…He's got it all. He can throw the 15-yard out on a dime. He can throw the deep ball very well. He can step up and throw. He can do it all. Then on top of that, (he has) his ability to make people miss and buy himself time.
Swain called Jackson a "great read-option quarterback" who is the rare player who can run and throw the ball equally well.
He said that when he watches film of Jackson's scrambling, "a lot of time what he ends up with is a little Johnny Manziel-like."
"(Defense) have no idea what he's going to do every time he gets a snap," Swain said.
Swain said Jackson is near or perhaps already has qualified academically to play his freshman year. The coach doesn't think Jackson particularly enjoys the recruiting process and fielding calls from college coaches, so he expects he's pretty well set and solid on his U of L pledge for the long haul.
Once Jackson gets to U of L, Swain won't be surprised if he makes an impact sooner than later.
"I don't know what Louisville has as far as quarterbacks (returning in 2015)," the coach said. "All I can tell you is they better be real, real good. Because if not, you're going to see a freshman quarterback."
Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.