UB's Jackson reborn as returner
Bulls' receiver achieves prominence on special teams
Ernest Jackson had been a man out of position. Or at least it appeared that way. The University at Buffalo senior has spent three seasons as a wide receiver, last year catching 53 passes for 645 yards. His breakaway speed makes him a threat to turn even the slightest gain into a touchdown every time he touches the ball. Click here for UB's receiving leaders.
Yet he stands 6-foot-2 and weighs nearly 220 pounds, hardly the dimensions of a kick returner. And therein lies one of the reasons why perhaps he hasn’t been used as a kick returner until recently.
“In practice I would return a few kicks and I used to mess with [wide receivers coach Juan Taylor] and say, ‘Put me back there. Put me back there.’ And he finally gave me a chance.”
When they finally accommodated Jackson’s request, he darted 97 yards untouched for a touchdown and caught a pair of touchdown passes to account for all of the Bulls’ scoring against nationally ranked Missouri last Saturday. When the Bulls (2-2, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) play at Central Michigan (2-2, 1-0) on Saturday, Jackson will continue to compete with Mario Henry, Brandon Thermilus and Naaman Roosevelt for playing time in UB’s merry-go-round return game.
“Yes,” UB coach Turner Gill said, “he’ll be back there for kick returns and punt returns.”
Good idea, considering Jackson’s time in the 40 (4.45) and his background as a tailback at Gates-Chili High School near Rochester. Jackson rushed for 1,480 yards and 18 touchdowns in six games before spending the rest of the season at receiver.
In 2005 as a true freshman, Jackson returned two kicks. He did not return another one until the Temple game two weeks ago.
Until recently, Jackson has demonstrated his explosive broken-field running skills mostly at receiver. He has 13 receptions for 150 yards with a long one of 32 yards and has career totals of 84 catches for 1,046 yards and 10 TDs.
| NCAA Kickoff Return Leaders | |||||
| Name | Team | No. | Yds. | Avg. | TD |
| Desmond Tardy | Purdue | 4 | 161 | 40.25 | 0 |
| Perrish Cox | Ok. St | 4 | 155 | 38.75 | 1 |
| Josh Smith | Col. | 7 | 269 | 38.43 | 1 |
| Jamal Schulters | Temple | 5 | 191 | 38.20 | 1 |
| Marshwan Gilyard | Cinc. | 8 | 305 | 38.13 | 1 |
| Ernest Jackson | UB | 5 | 184 | 36.80 | 1 |
“Ernest is a very, very talented young man,” Gill said. “He brings a more physical aspect to things. He’s very fast, he’s also very physical and can run, has good feet and can make people miss, too. He’s a fully developed receiver where we can use him in a lot of different ways.”
The staff wanted to work Jackson as a returner a year ago but Roosevelt, Terrell Jackson and Skyler Hagg were established in the role, and Roosevelt, who also returned punts, was one of the best in the MAC. Several other factors came into play: Jackson is a starter and he was needed on offense, and he was relatively inexperienced as a returner. Also, the staff wanted to give Roosevelt a break as a kick returner because he was needed as a playmaker in the passing game. Besides, the Bulls needed a spark.
Taylor convinced special teams coach Aaron Stamn to allow Jackson to return a kick against Temple.
“The kickoff he got, we saw that he was aggressive,” Taylor said. “We saw that he was going to hit that thing and as a matter of fact he outran his blockers. So it didn’t surprise me when he took one back to the house. I knew when he got a crease no one could catch him.”
Against Missouri, Jackson didn’t return the opening kickoff because the Bulls were throwing a deep pass on the first possession.
“E. J.,” Taylor told him, “you got the next two or three.”
The 97-yard touchdown was the longest in the Bulls’ Division I-A era and the first kick returned for a touchdown against Missouri since 1999.
“It was a great feeling,” said Jackson, who has returned five kicks for 184 yards. “So many fans were so quiet and our little section in the corner was screaming and hollering. It was crazy to see so many people so quiet.”
Said Taylor: “He will definitely get a shot every game now.”
