First there was the Atkins Diet, followed by the South Beach Diet. Now comes the “Nate Jackson Diet,” designed to turn the svelte Broncos wide receiver into a beefier, pass- catching tight end.
“I ate well and drank these shakes, three of them a day between meals and one before bed,” Jackson said Tuesday. “Before bed, I put the shake in a blender, and then put in two or three eggs, ice cream, chocolate sauce and blended it up. I put it on pretty quick.”
Last season, Jackson, who is 6-feet-3, weighed about 218 pounds. He now dents the scale at 235.
It was coach Mike Shanahan’s idea to move Jackson from reserve wide receiver to tight end, where he will compete with starter Jeb Putzier and newcomer Stephen Alexander. At wide receiver, Jackson faced a tough battle to make the roster, especially with the recent signing of veteran Jerry Rice.
“Mike asked me if I’d be willing to make that switch,” Jackson said. “It’s been going well. I think what he told me was that it’d be an opportunity to be on the field a little more and hopefully be utilized a little more. If that’s the case, then I’m all for it.”
During last month’s passing camp and the current team camp, Jackson has been trying to make the adjustment from a footloose receiver to a tight end who must do grunt work near the line of scrimmage. Quarterback Jake Plummer said he has been impressed with Jackson, but he acknowledged that the rules of the game will change during training camp when the Broncos strap on the pads.
“A guy who has been doing well there is Nate Jackson,” Plummer said. “There are no pads on now, and a receiver going down in that box when you are running the ball, that’s a whole different story. But if we can use him the right way, he can be a big asset for us in the passing game.”
Jackson said it has taken him a while to feel comfortable carrying an extra 17 pounds. A bigger adjustment is the physical nature of his new position.
“I’ve been blocking and I’ve been down there with the big boys mixing it up,” he said. “It’s a big change going from a receiver to trying to block defensive ends. But it’s about technique.”
Jackson played in 12 games last season, mostly on special teams. He caught eight passes for 73 yards and seemed to be on the verge of becoming a bigger part of the Denver offense. But his season ended Dec. 7 when he was placed on injured reserve with a fractured left ankle. He said the ankle is fully healed.
Ferguson honored
Safety Nick Ferguson has been named winner of the 2005 NFL Player Development Academic Achievement Award. He will receive the award Sunday at the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics’ annual conference in Raleigh, N.C.
Ferguson, 30, returned to Georgia Tech as a full-time student this offseason to complete his bachelor’s degree in marketing eight years after concluding his playing career for the Atlanta school. To earn his diploma, Ferguson forfeited his $50,000 offseason workout bonus from the Broncos.
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
