Boulder – There rarely has been perceptible anguish in Bernard Jackson’s eyes. He has walked with confidence, spoken with softness and never chosen to publicly stir the pot.
But the quiet times were hard.
Doubt fought with confidence. Quitting fought with staying. Eagerness fought with patience.
Colorado quarterback Bernard Jackson. That is how he had always envisioned himself since signing with the Buffs as a star signal-caller from Santiago High in Corona, Calif.
Only, until now there were dozens of those annoying orange detour signs in his road.
So many, in fact, that Jackson, now a junior, thought days where teammates, friends, family, media and fans would see him as the starting quarterback would never come.
“I was ready to just say, ‘I don’t even want to play quarterback anymore,”‘ Jackson said earlier this week as the wind blew across the CU practice fields where he had just finished extra work with receivers.
“It was hard. Just coming out here and just sitting around, just looking, wishing I could be out there. It was tough.”
It was before coach Dan Hawkins arrived.
Hawkins scrapped the past and looked toward the future, which was just what Jackson needed, because his past was rarely at quarterback.
It was lathered with doubt from previous coaches about his worth as the guy taking snaps. Jackson was a kick returner, a wide receiver and a running back.
“That’s one of the things that Bernard struggled with,” said guard Brian Daniels, who arrived at CU in the same class as Jackson. “He came here as a quarterback and kind of got put on the back burner by the old staff and never got a chance to sit down and learn the offense, which was one of his main problems. He just didn’t have the knowledge of it.
“When players are moved around like that, they never get a chance to fully develop in the position they are supposed to be at. You’re tying to find the best place for that player to be, but if that player is a quarterback or that player is a wide receiver or an O-lineman, they’re going to do the best when they’ve had years of experience at it and getting better at it every day.”
The most recent time Colorado faced Missouri, Jackson was learning the tricks of the trade at tailback. Now, he’s the fastest-improving player on CU’s team at the position he always wanted to play.
“He’s gone from, ‘I can barely call a play,’ to actually understanding and comprehending and having kind of a second-level mode of operation,” Hawkins said.
“He is starting, as a quarterback, to talk to the team a little bit, being a leader that way.”
And all of this in three weeks.
Jackson was the surprise starter against Colorado State, CU’s second game.
Using an array of quarterback keepers, he led the Buffs to a touchdown on the opening drive, only to struggle for the rest of the game.
In his next start, against Arizona State, Jackson was a bit better, leading productive drives. But it was his work against Georgia that opened eyes.
Jackson ran for 85 yards and a touchdown and threw for 140 more.
“He’s improved a ton,” offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich said. “He’s drinking out of a fire hose in terms of all of the stuff that comes at him, whether it’s mentally, physically, situations he’s never been in before. But I think the Georgia game helped him in terms of his confidence.”
Jackson admits to being surprised at how fast he has picked things up.
“Your first major time being a starter – I’m like a freshman out here to some degree,” he said. “I’m a lot more at ease and confident making reads and making the little things count. So, I feel like I’ve come a long way.”
But one thing he doesn’t have to worry about again is faith.
“They’ve given me a shot, and allowed (me) to have the opportunity to be a quarterback and make plays,” Jackson said. “It builds confidence in myself and the team.”
GAME BREAKDOWN
Players to watch
Colorado (0-4): Center Bryce MacMartin makes the first start of his career in place of Mark Fenton, who is out with a broken right fibula. “Obviously, Mark’s shoes are huge to fill,” MacMartin said. “My goal is to come in and have the offense not miss a beat.” MacMartin, a senior, took over when Fenton went down in the first half of the Georgia game. “I’m putting in extra time, trying to really make sure that I know the game plan better than anybody so that I can be out there and lead and make sure everybody has confidence in me, too.”
Missouri (4-0): Wide receiver Will Franklin is unknown but is blossoming into one of the Big 12’s better targets. He’s fourth in the conference in receptions (20), third in receiving yards (343) and tied for first in receiving touchdowns (four). “He’s doing a lot of good things,” Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel said. “It’s his third year here. He’s worked tremendously hard, he’s perfected his fundamentals, but he can get a lot better.”
Key stat
Colorado has lost 11 straight games to ranked opponents. CU’s most recent win against a ranked opponent was in 2003, a 21-16 victory over No. 22 Missouri. This time, Missouri is ranked No. 25.
Key for Missouri
Contain Bernard Jackson. The CU quarterback ran amok through Georgia’s defense Saturday, helping the Buffs to their best offensive game this season.
Key for Colorado
Consistency. The Buffs have worked out enough kinks to put together a solid first half, but they need to find a way to carry it over.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
