Quarterback Lamar Jackson has etched his name throughout the University of Louisville’s and Atlantic Coast Conference’s record books.
The junior signal-caller made history on Wednesday, becoming the only player in the ACC’s 65-year history to be named the league’s player and offensive player of the year in consecutive seasons.
The awards were chosen by a vote of a select 45-member media panel and the league’s 14 head coaches.
Jackson was an overwhelming winner of both awards. He picked up 51 of the 59 votes for the top overall honor in the league and was on 57 of the ballots for the conference’s top offensive award.
Named first team all-ACC for the second-straight season on Monday, Jackson is in the midst of duplicating his remarkable 2016 season, when he became the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy.
In winning college football’s most coveted award, Jackson last season rushed for 1,571 yards and 21 touchdowns, while passing for 3,543 yards and 30 touchdowns. He set a school record with 5,114 yards of total offense, while accounting for a league-record 51 touchdowns.
This season, Jackson has nearly matched those numbers – and exceeded them in some cases.
Jackson leads the nation in total offense with 4,932 yards and is on pace to set ACC season and career records for total yards per game. He has been responsible for 116 career touchdowns, tying Clemson’s Deshaun Watson (2014-16) for second on the ACC’s all-time list.
Jackson has thrown for 3,489 yards and 25 touchdowns this season, passing for over 300 yards six times in 2017. In three seasons at Louisville, Jackson ranks fourth in school history with 8,872 career passing yards, overtaking Miami’s Jacory Harris (2008-11) for 18th on the ACC’s career list.
On the verge of becoming the first player in league history to lead the league in rushing and passing, Jackson has ran for 1,443 yards and 17 touchdowns this year. He is the first player in school history to rush for over 1,300 yards in back-to-back seasons.
Jackson rushed for 156 yards in the Cardinals’ regular-season finale, breaking his own Louisville record for the most 100-yard rushing games in a season with nine. He moved into a tie for third in ACC history with 22 100-yard rushing games during his career.
The Pompano Beach, Fla., native ranks seventh in NCAA history for rushing yards by a quarterback with 3,974 and needs just 26 yards to become the seventh quarterback to rush for 4,000 yards in a career.
With 372 total yards and two touchdowns last week at Kentucky, Jackson broke his own Louisville record with his 12th game this season with 300 yards of total offense.
Earlier this season, the ACC’s three-time Back of the Week became the first player in NCAA history to rush for over 1,000 yards and pass for over 3,000 in consecutive seasons. He needs 26 rushing yards and 126 yards passing to become the second player in the NCAA record book to run for 4,000 and pass for 9,000 yards in a career.
by Rocco Gasparro
