Inside The Huskies

Urban Meyer Salutes Elijah Jackson's TD-Saving Play

The former Ohio State and Florida coach called it the ultimate example of hustle.

Dan Raley

UW cornerback Elijah Jackson (25) brings down Michigan's Blake Corum in the CFP championship game.
UW cornerback Elijah Jackson (25) brings down Michigan's Blake Corum in the CFP championship game. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Urban Meyer and Gerry DiNardo, former coaches turned Big Ten broadcasters, know all about effort when it comes to the college football landscape.

Meyer emerged as a little-known coach at Bowling Green and Utah to win three national championships for Florida and Ohio State combined.

DiNardo, besides serving as the Vanderbilt, LSU and Indiana coach, was an All-America offensive lineman who played his football for Notre Dame and practiced daily against Rudy Ruettiger, the ultimate walk-on player whose life story of infinite football heart and desire was turned into the Hollywood film "Rudy."

So it was nothing short of fascinating to hear these two men sit in their weekly Big Ten Network segment called "Urban Analysis" and discuss the exploits of University of Washington cornerback and special-teams player Elijah Jackson, who on Saturday ran nearly quarters of of the field at Husky Stadium to save a touchdown against Northwestern in the UW's 24-5 victory.

"This is one of the best efforts I've seen in many, many years," Meyer said emphatically.

What Meyer and others witnessed was the Huskies break down on their kickoff coverage in the fourth quarter and enable speedy Northwestern return specialist Joseph Himon II to catch the ball on his 2 and find an open lane that seemingly would provide him with a 98-yard touchdown return.

Each week, Meyer selects an edge player of the week and he explained what that involves with the following, "Football is game of effort and that's what the edge is. The edge is the definition of where average stops and elite begins."

Elite as in Elijah, a Husky football player previously known for making a big play on a big stage, whose Sugar Bowl-saving pass break-up in the end zone on the final play remains a calling card for him.

Jackson, as Meyer pointed out on film, came up field with a safety-valve responsibility, trailing his fellow tacklers. Once he reached the Northwestern 25, he saw the predicament his team was in, reversed himself and gave chase after the Wildcats' Himon.

"He made a decsioin, Gerry, he did, for his team, but he made a decision regardless of the mistakes being made," the former coach said. "I used to say there's one thing that always overcomes a mistake -- it's called effort."

Jackson can be seen running in a full sprint for nearly 75 yards, arms pumping in a furious manner, before catching up with Himon on the UW 2 with a dive and a tackle that prevented a sure touchdown. The Huskies then put up a successful goal-line stand, permitting just one yard in four plays and leaving Northwestern with nothing.

"Every play there are mistakes made -- this was a huge mistake by Washington," Meyer said of the faulty kick coverage. "However, one player made a decision and it was Elijah Jackson -- and he saved the day."

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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