Randy Smith
I had not been to a Clemson football game in three years. And when my son-in-law asked me if I wanted his ticket to the game this past weekend when the Tigers played Louisville, I said yes because I wanted to see if Cardinal quarterback Lamar Jackson was as good as advertised. Believe me....he is.
Though Clemson had him well under control for most of the first half, he showed his true brilliance in the second half, erasing an early Tiger lead and almost pulling out a come from behind win on the road.
The Cardinals should be favored to win their remaining games and if they do, they will very likely secure a spot in college football's post season. Even if they finish second to Clemson in the ACC's Atlantic Division, Louisville should be in the final four.
If the above mentioned scenario does pan out, you can also count on Lamar Jackson to win the Heisman Trophy. I have seen better passers, but I have never seen anyone with the overall athletic skills that Jackson possesses. He doesn't just outrun people, he explodes past them. Great speed isn't his only asset. He has more moves than "Dancing With The Stars" and while he is surrounded by a lot of other talented players, when he turns his game up a bit, they follow his lead.
In the second half against Clemson, he came within one play of guiding his team to a major win on the road. He accounted for 497 yards of offense, most coming in the second half when he led the Cardinals to 26 of their 36 points. He is still the favorite to win the Heisman, even though Clemson's Deshaun Watson also improved his chances with a great performance in the same game.
I have stated before that Bo Jackson and Hershel Walker were the most impressive players I ever saw. Both won the Heisman Trophy and both are in the Hall of Fame. Lamar Jackson has more athletic skills than either Bo or Hershel. You can take that to the bank.
I overheard a pair of the analysts talking about the match up between Louisville and Clemson, and I completely agree with what they said. If you were starting a college program you want Lamar Jackson at quarterback. But if you were building a team on the next level, you would choose Deshaun Watson. After all, Jackson has played a mere five games in his college career. It's still too early to determine where he will fit in the NFL draft, but Watson will no doubt be a high first round draft pick.
I'm glad I took the ticket to go see Lamar Jackson play. I was able to watch the Tennessee-Georgia game at our tailgate spot, and we all know how that turned out. All in all it was a fantastic day to be a college football fan. I watched Tennessee's greatest win over Georgia ever and saw the two best college football players live and in person. It just doesn't get better than that.
---
Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have five grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, Mattingly, DellaMae, and CoraLee.