Jackson ready to pitch in

With Mikell Simpson officially listed as doubtful (at least a 75 percent chance he will not play) for Virginia at Maryland on Saturday, the burden of toting the pigskin falls into the capable hands of big, bad Rashawn Jackson.

Wouldn’t you know that when Simpson rediscovered his groove in last Saturday’s domination of visiting Indiana, he would soon be knocked out of the next game with an injury. At the time the UVa tailback suffered a neck injury, he had accumulated 149 all-purpose yards with 6:38 remaining in the third quarter.

But, alas, Jackson, another one of those fifth-year seniors (just like Simpson) had 118 yards on only 11 touches, eight less than the injured starter.

A career performance

Jackson’s performance against the Hoosiers was easily his best and most productive of his career. Jackson rushed for 73 yards (only 10 less than Simpson) on eight carries, including a 33-yard run, easily surpassing his best single-game total of 52 yards on the ground against Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl two seasons ago.

He also caught three passes for 45 yards, one of those covering 34 against Indiana.

UVa quarterback Jameel Sewell likes to describe Jackson, a powerful 6-foot-1, 245-pounder, as a “good all-around back.” There’s a reason.

Jackson has played some linebacker at Virginia. He’s played some fullback. He’s filled in at tailback. He’s strong, has good speed, has good hands and is the Cavaliers’ best pass protector in the backfield, watching his quarterback’s back.

Sewell had better say nice things, right?

A fallen friend

When Simpson went down, was carted off the field, and gave the thumbs-up signal to the crowd while being taken to the hospital for evaluation (he was released later that night), Jackson wasn’t about to let Virginia’s offensive momentum slip.

“I ran the ball thinking of [Simpson] all the time,” Jackson said this week. “I was praying that it wasn’t the same thing as Nate Lyles a couple of years ago. I just ran angry. I’ve known Mikell for five years and so it was kind of a gut check. I just wanted to finish the game strong.”

The big back did just that. Indiana’s defense couldn’t handle his size or speed.

Sewell spoke for the entire offense when he mentioned how impressed he was with the effort and how confident he is in Jackson’s abilities. All that will come in handy in College Park, where much of Wahoo Nation was anticipating a return engagement by Simpson.

Two years ago at Byrd Stadium, Simpson seemingly took control of the game single-handedly and — practically out of nowhere — turned in one of the most eye-popping performances by a player in Virginia history.

In that game, Simpson became only the sixth player in ACC history to pile up both 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a game. He ran for 119 and two touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes for 152 yards and finished the contest with 271 all-purpose yards, sixth-most in school history.

He capped off the performance with 14 touches on UVa’s dramatic 90-yard, 15-play drive, diving into the end zone from one yard out for the winning touchdown with 16 seconds remaining.

Hopefully, for Jackson’s sake, he won’t have to duplicate that incredible performance to pull out a win against the Terps.

“Rashawn knows how to get the ball down the field,” Sewell said. “It’s expected of him.”

Now that Virginia’s offensive line has found itself, perhaps there will be a little more running room for Jackson and backup Torrey Mack, who rushed for 40 yards and caught two short passes against the Hoosiers.

“I was telling Torrey all week last week that he’s going to have to just go, just run the ball and don’t worry about anything, just run,” Sewell said.

The UVa quarterback likes that the Cavaliers have gone back to a more physical style of play, which seems to suit the current personnel.

“We’re doing what we like to do, playing physical and not finesse,” Sewell said. “Our linemen and backs are going right at these guys. A lot of the linemen like to pull, get up field and knock people down.”

Jackson liked what the O-line did in front of him against the Hoosiers as well.

“They were smacking people around,” Jackson smiled. “They were playing Big Ten football.”

Maryland’s not going to make it easy for Virginia, though. The Terps have their backs against the wall and are playing at home.

The thing with Maryland this year is that its defense is taking more risks than it did last season. The Terps are blitzing safeties in hopes of causing strip sacks.

It’s a deadly game they play. Safety blitzes often mean exposed cornerbacks. The tactic worked against Clemson’s young quarterbacks in an upset win, but not last week against veteran Wake Forest passer Riley Skinner, who threw for lots of yardage, mostly on quick, short passes that negated Maryland’s strategy.

The Deacons amassed 516 yards of offense, the most of any Wake team in four years. Skinner’s four TD passes tied the Deacs’ record.

You know that Sewell is ready for the challenge.

Jackson said ditto for himself and Mack.

“Torrey ran the ball pretty well last week,” Jackson said. “He ran more North-South and less East-West. He has been practicing like a big-time player. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do. We are both ready to go.”