Hawkins sees blue chip in Jackson

Bernard Jackson, however frustratingly slow his development, continues to show flashes of real talent.

And the man, I give credit, seems unshakable. No matter what happens, he doesn't wet himself. He has such unshakable confidence, which could be all him and his upbringing or the coaches selling him on the big picture.

In Monday's Denver Post, Chris Dempsey wrote an article on Jackson and some points caught my attention.

Did you see it in the work, too?

Coach Dan Hawkins obviously is frustrated, yet not ledge walking over his offense's struggles. He does see something good deep down in Jackson.

"But if you look at what he did in the premier moments of the Kansas State game, it was pretty spectacular. And if he can do that on a consistent basis, we can win a lot of games with that guy.'

A lot of games.

Now, a lot has to happen for Jackson to become that player. First, B-Jack needs to continue his understanding of the offense, he needs better talent around him and he needs work on his throwing mechanics.

The man has a plus-arm, he has speed, he can be more than just potential.

One thing that bears watching is Jackson's overall numbers. He will never put up Brady Quinn passing statistics. He is an all-purpose quarterback so you have to figure his rushing numbers into his passing to get a better feel of his production.

You do that and his numbers aren't bad for a first-year starter, outside his completion percentage. He has 1,559 yards, 10 touchdowns (throwing and running) and seven interceptions. I did not see records of fumbles lost. Now obviously, that is insufficient as is the team's 1-9 record, but it is a foundation. And as the braintrust of this site, the Media Roundtable has shared, B-Jack will be pressed in the spring and fall by junior-college transfer Nick Nelson and freshman Cody Hawkins.

The bettter those guys are, the more incentive for Jackson and the better news for the quarterback position.

NOTE....an interview this week with former Buffs' basketball standout, Scott Wilke. Still working on one more interview. Hope to finalize that soon.