Just a few years before Lamar Jackson became the front-runner to win the 2016 Heisman Trophy, the Louisville quarterback was tearing up defenses at Boynton Beach High School.
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, shown in 2014 during the Lou Groza Awards banquet, completed two standout seasons at Boynton Beach. (Post file photo)
Jackson, a Cardinals sophomore who set a school record with 4,928 total yards this season and recently was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Player of the Year, set numerous records during his two seasons as Boynton Beach’s starting quarterback.
As a junior, the 6-foot-3 dual-threat quarterback threw for 1,358 yards and 18 touchdowns, and ran for nearly 1,100 yards and 17 more scores. The Tigers finished 9-2 that season and earned a berth in the Class 6A regional quarterfinals.
Jackson was named a Super 11 selection to start his senior year, and followed with a standout season in which he threw for 1,293 yards and ran for 1,093 yards, won the Lou Groza Awards High School Player of the Year, and earned Palm Beach Post All-Area First Team honors.
He finished the season as the No. 2-rated player on the Post’s Class of 2015 Big Board, behind Palm Beach Gardens linebacker Tevon Coney, now a key contributor for Notre Dame.
There is a watch party planned for Saturday night’s Heisman presentation ceremony at Boynton Beach High and former teammates and coaches plan to gather at a local restaurant to watch one of their own hopefully win the most famous trophy in American sports.
“He was a fun player to watch,” Antoine Jerome, a former teammate of Jackson’s, told the Post in a September story.
Indeed, in a Sept. 5 game against Lake Worth in 2014, Jackson accounted for four touchdowns in a 64-29 Tigers victory.
Check out the highlights from that game below. Jackson is wearing No. 7.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTEfN0GvLGs&w=640&h=390]
Jackson, a three-star recruit, drew plenty of attention during his two years at Boynton Beach. He accumulated numerous Division I offers, with Florida, Florida State, Clemson and Auburn among them.
But he chose Louisville, committing to the Cardinals in August 2014, and signing with them the following February despite a late push from the Gators, the University of Miami and others.
“I saw what Teddy Bridgewater did there and I feel like I would be a good fit in their offense,” Jackson told the Post in 2014.
Jackson accumulated more than 4,900 yards of offense as a Cardinals’ sophomore this season. He is considered the Heisman Trophy front-runner. (Post file photo)
Jackson fit right in with Louisville, which molded its offense to suit Jackson’s strengths as a running quarterback while developing his passing game.
As a true freshman last season, Jackson ran for 960 yards and 11 touchdowns, and threw for 1,840 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Jackson followed with staggering numbers as a sophomore, running for 1,538 yards and 21 touchdowns, and throwing for 3,390 yards and 30 touchdowns.
If Jackson wins the Heisman Trophy – he was named a finalist Monday – he will be the first Palm Beach County athlete to do so.
Glades Central quarterback Brad Banks came closest, finishing second to Carson Palmer in 2002. Three other Palm Beach County athletes (Anthony Carter from 1980-82, Tre Mason in 2013 and Craig Erickson in 1990) finished among the top 10.
Post sports columnist Dave George called Jackson the most exciting player in college football in a story posted Tuesday, and said the former Boynton Beach standout deserves to be recognized for that.
The 2016 Heisman Trophy will be awarded Saturday night in New York.
For a photo gallery featuring Lamar Jackson, click here.
To watch video of a special message for Lamar Jackson shared by students, staff and administrators at Boynton Beach High School, click here.
