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Worth the Wait: Jackson making an impact
Mark Mitchell Photo
ASU's Josh Jackson rushed for 34 yards on 6 carries against Georgia Southern.
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Published: October 23, 2008
Appalachian State, known for making good use of walk-ons, got help from yet another low-profile player Saturday.
And he was awarded a game ball for his effort.
Josh Jackson, an unheralded running back who started this season at No. 5 on the depth chart, waited for three seasons. He finally got some prime time in a 37-36 victory against Georgia Southern, backing up starter Devin Radford and gaining 34 yards on six carries for a 5.7-yard average.
"We don't ever give very many game balls -- probably four or five in 20 years," Coach Jerry Moore of the Mountaineers said. "He's a walk-on kid, a non-scholarship kid who has had kind of a rough deal to tell you the truth, financially. For most kids, they would have probably opted out of our program.
"He's hung in here, and this is his fourth year here, and he knows what to do and what is expected. He's been a leader in his own way, and I asked two or three of our guys as they came in the locker-room door if they had a problem giving Josh the game ball and, heck, they all got excited about it. It was kind of a neat atmosphere in the locker room."
Jackson, a 5-10, 205-pound junior from Gastonia, redshirted and spent time on the scout team in 2005 and played in just one game in 2006.
Last season, he helped on special teams -- making 12 tackles in kick coverage -- and did get 23 carries in mop-up duty.
Injuries to Devon Moore and Robert Welton in a once-deep corps of running backs bumped Jackson -- who had slipped past redshirt freshman Cedric Baker in the pecking order -- significantly up the list heading into the game against Georgia Southern. Jackson, a power runner, figured in as a complementary option to the speedy Radford.
"I've just always told myself to be ready because you never know what might happen," said Jackson, who knew that his role would increase with Welton nursing a shore shoulder from the game at Samford the week before. He said that Chris Moore, the running-backs coach, told him to be prepared.
"He said for me to be ready, that this was what I had been waiting for. I think I did pretty good, but there's room to grow. I just try to get better every week."
Jackson has 163 yards rushing this season, more than he might have expected.
"He's stayed the course," Jerry Moore said. "He's very highly respected by our players. He's got a great work ethic, he's a journeyman-type player who, when we're having our major scrimmages in the fall, is one of those guys who gets to get in the last 10 or 15 minutes.
"He's a good, solid kid and a guy that's dependable for us."
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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