Louisville Football: Could Lamar Jackson be even better in 2017?
The thought of a player as polarizing as Lamar Jackson being even better in 2017 than he was in 2016 is crazy, but it is possible.
The Louisville Cardinals had the potential to put together a run to the College Football Playoff in 2016 but came up short with some tough losses at the end of the season.
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According to the Courier Journal, junior Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson is focused and ready for fall camp and could be even bigger and faster in 2017. That’s a scary thought for other ACC teams that have to face Jackson again this year after being tormented by him already just one year ago.
Jackson brought home the Heisman Trophy last season after totaling 51 touchdowns and more than 5,000 yards. However, Jackson’s production did slow drastically at the end of the season. He notched only six touchdowns of his 51 in the final four games.
The bowl loss to the LSU Tigers where Jackson was held of the score sheet completely should serve as enough of a lesson to get him back on track. Yet, this is still something he’ll have to change to trend in the right direction at the beginning of the 2017 campaign.
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The amount of work Jackson has put in during the 2017 offseason to reach his desired physical goals for the upcoming season should gives fans the right notion about where his head is at now. Gone, hopefully, are the days of Jackson trying to do too much and now letting his teammates bare some of the burden of the offense.
Louisville starts off 2017 with an easier opponent in the Purdue Boilermakers. Jackson will get thrown into the spotlight very early for facing not such a tough team to start the year. Louisville faces Purdue at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts.
Jackson showed us what he can do against suspect defenses and just overall bad teams in the season opener just one year ago against the Charlotte 49ers. He totaled eight touchdowns in limited action against Charlotte.
Yet, the schedule gets much tougher over the two following weeks as Louisville faces the North Carolina Tar Heels and the former National Champion Clemson Tigers. Jackson had a chance to defeat Clemson last year but came up short on the final drive.
The two following games are the easiest stretch of the season for the Cardinals as they face Kent State and Murray State at home.
The fact that Jackson would have to total more than 5,200 yards and 51 touchdowns to eclipse what he did during his sophomore campaign is mind boggling. Yet, a mostly easy start to the season could give Jackson what he needs to get his confidence back that he had at the beginning of 2016.
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There’s a great chance to Jackson could put up record shattering numbers once again and keep himself among the best players in college football.