After changing duds and positions, Jackson ready to shine at Skyline
By Tim Tassa
(Daily Staff Writer)
FRONT ROYAL — Nathaniel Jackson remembers the play vividly.
As Warren County’s quarterback, he was rolling out on a pass last season against Sherando in the Wildcats’ fourth game, scampering across the field before he was hit by the Warriors’ Joey Christine, sending Jackson hard to the turf.
“I thought it was a stinger at first because I’ve never had that kind of injury,” Jackson said. “But then when I got off the field I kind of reached in and felt my collarbone sticking out.”
For the quarterback, the collarbone was broken, ending a promising season in which he had rushed for 528 yards on 69 carries, averaging an incredible 7.7 yards per attempt.
“He was doing a very good job for us and that really hurt last year,” said Skyline head coach Heath Gilbert, who was then the coach at Warren County. “But this is a new year and Nathaniel’s done everything he can to put himself in position to stay healthy.”
Turning in his Wildcat uniform for the midnight blue, forest green and Vegas gold of Skyline, Jackson has entered camp penciled in at a new position in the team’s new spread offense that, according to Gilbert, makes use of the team’s speed.
As the Hawks’ feature tailback, Jackson, at 5-foot-9, 175 pounds, isn’t the prototypical running back under Gilbert, who said he’s gone away from the bigger backs common in the Single-Wing offense.
Instead, Gilbert has implemented a new zone-blocking scheme that will allow Jackson to use his vision and decide mid-play whether to proceed through the designated hole, cut back, or bounce out, depending on what the defense gives.
“In a power game they’re going to hit a specific hole,” Gilbert said, further illustrating the freedom running backs have in the new stretch attack.
During the camp’s outset in August, Gilbert said that Jackson could be used as a quarterback on certain plays and formations. However, Jackson played down any future time in that role. And on an offense features eight players with starting experience, it’s unlikely that Jackson will have to carry the full load this season.
“We feel like we have too many kids — just to focus on one — that can do something with the football, so we’re definitely looking to spread it around,” Gilbert said.
“It’s going to be hard to key on us because we’re going to be doing so much with our formations and motions.”
The Hawks will feature 90-plus formations in which the offense can line up, and Gilbert said he plans to go into motion before the snap at least 70 percent of the time.
Senior A.J. Jackson will take over the team’s quarterback duties after winning the battle during camp, according to Gilbert, and with his ability to both throw and run the ball, both Jacksons should complement each other on the ground.
“We have a lot more plays to spread out the defense,” said A.J. Jackson, who also thinks the team will throw the football more than Gilbert has in the past — a component that was almost entirely missing at Warren County last season. Through three and a half games in 2006 — before the injury— Nathaniel Jackson was just 17 of 31 for 257 yards through the air and Warren finished the season second to last in the area in passing yards, besting only Stonewall Jackson.
So, for a run-oriented team, moving its best playmaker to tailback is likely to be a good fit.
After a grueling offseason, Gilbert said that Jackson showed no signs of rust or hesitance stemming from his shoulder injury — a testament to the hard work he put in to regain his previous form.
“I’m hoping to,” Jackson said. “It was unfortunate and I just had to deal with it and move on.”
By January, for the team’s winter workouts, Jackson was 100 percent and fully participated, carrying that same mentality over to the offseason where the running back summed up his summer in a simple word: football.
Jackson said he spent six days per week doing some kind of football-related activity. On Wednesday and Saturday he’d participate in seven-on-seven passing tournaments and on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday he’d work out.
“I just worked out hard this offseason and did what I had to do to make sure I was strong enough to take the beating,” Jackson said.
Added his coach, “He’s put himself in a great position to have a good season. He increased all his benches and his squats and his power cleans. He did all the things we needed him to do.”
Jackson said that tailback would be the position he’d likely play at the next level, and he’ll get a chance to showcase those skills in the spread offense, for a new team and for a new school. The Hawks open up their season against Randolph-Macon Academy on Sept. 1 with the spotlight likely to be on the player wearing the No. 1 jersey.
“I don’t really expect anything,” senior offensive lineman Jacob Huffstickler said. “I hope that he does well like the rest of us, but he’s going to do well more than likely.”
