Kansas State running back Joe Jackson is ready to build off record-breaking game
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Joe Jackson broke K‑State single‑game rushing record and earned Big 12 award.
- Sophomore rose from backup to lead back after 293 yards and three touchdowns.
- Klieman plans to feature Jackson and the offensive line against Colorado Saturday.
Joe Jackson has struggled to keep up with the mountain of support he has received since he rushed for 293 yards and three touchdowns for Kansas State last week.
Every time the sophomore running back looks at his phone there is a new wave of congratulatory messages for him to sort through.
“It’s been a lot,” Jackson said. “I have tried my best to get back to all of them and thank all of them and just show my respect for them for reaching out to me. But it has been a lot.”
In case you missed any of them, here is a quick rundown of all the accolades that Jackson has earned for himself over the past week.
- He broke the K-State record for rushing yards in a game, which was previously held by Darren Sproles
- Topped his previous career high of 110 rushing yards by a whopping 183 yards
- Gained the second-most total yards in school history with 312 yards from scrimmage at Utah
- Named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.
Jackson began the season as K-State’s backup running back. But he has proven himself more than capable of a starting role.
“The offensive line opened up huge holes,” K-State quarterback Avery Johnson said. “Joe was running through holes that were two gaps wide. And then he was special in space, making the free safety miss a bunch of times, running through contact. That was the best performances on the ground that I’ve been a part of. He played his heart out.”
Head coach Chris Klieman will likely lean on Jackson and the K-State offensive line again when the Wildcats host Colorado in the final game of the regular season on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
K-State is running low on playmakers at wide receiver. There is also a chance of rain on Saturday with a high of 42 degrees.
“We have to find ways to win at the line of scrimmage,” Klieman said. “But I will tell you, Colorado is saying the same thing. If it’s going to be a cold day with a little chance of precipitation, whoever can win the line of scrimmage is going to have the advantage. That’s something that is going to be important to us.”
What does Jackson have in store for an encore?
He is not setting limitations for himself. On Saturday, he was asked if he thought he could run for even more yards in a future game. His response wasn’t no.
Fun as the past few days have been for him, he is already aiming for more.
“You can celebrate and have fun with it, but you have to move on and start a new week,” Jackson said. “We need to put a great week of preparation together by going back to the basics and finding things that we can get better at.”