The RUNNING Man

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 | 11:27 a.m.

UNLV assistant head football coach John Jackson was asked by a reporter this week what his plans were now that his boss, John Robinson, was moving into retirement after Saturday night's season finale at San Diego State.

"I'm looking for a job," said Jackson, 68. "I guess I've been procrastinating a little. But I know I'm going to keep working."

Be it in football or the business world, it's doubtful one would find a more impressive resume than the one put together by this graduate of New York University.

Consider:

Junior college transfer Jeremi Rudolph (1,005 in 2000) and Joe Haro (1,107 in 2001) both developed into 1,000-yard rushers for the Rebels while Arizona-transfer Larry Croom, who made it as a free agent with the Arizona Cardinals this year, came close with 932 yards in 2003.

But perhaps no better example of Jackson's coaching abilities both on and off the field can be found this year in senior running back Dominique Dorsey.

Dorsey, a 5-foot-7, 170-pounder. was passed over by Pac-10 schools because of his size, but has all but clinched the Mountain West Conference rushing crown this year with 1,215 yards on 206 attempts (5.9-yard average) and six touchdowns. Dorsey is averaging 121.5 yards per game compared to runnerup DonTrell Moore of New Mexico (103.6).

"He's just a great coach," Dorsey said. "He is so smart. He knows all about the game. He knows it's important for a guy my size to be tough."

Dorsey, the 2001 Mountain West Conference freshman of the year, sat out spring practice the following year to deal with personal issues and many wondered if he would ever play again at UNLV. But Jackson, looked up to as almost a father figure by many of his players, helped guide Dorsey through the tough times.

"It's really gratifying," Jackson said of Dorsey's turnaround. "To me the thing that has been important in my life is my relationship with the guys. That becomes very important to me. He's a very unique young man. I take my hat off to him."

Jackson seems almost as impressed with Dorsey's academic achievements as his rushing statistics.

"He had a 3.6 grade point average last semester," Jackson said. "He's not brilliant but what he is is he's there when he's supposed to be there. And when you give him an assignment, he's there. You tell him to go to a tutor at this time and he's there. He's done the things he's supposed to do and it's paid off."

"Coach Jackson always strives for you to get good grades," Dorsey, who is on track to graduate in May, said. "He was on me since the first day I got in here about how important school work was. It took awhile for me to understand, though."

Jackson was asked how he would rank Dorsey with some of the backs he coached over the years.

"He probably in the middle of the pack, I think," he said. "He's probably as fast as any back I've coached.

"Dominique is very similar to all of them in his attitude for the game as far as his drive and his desire to go out and practice. He's one of the first guys on the field every day. That's the kind of things those other guys shared. They weren't goof-offs who didn't come to practice. They liked to practice."

Jackson still maintains close contact with most of his proteges.

"One of the highlights of coaching for me is the relationship with people and the opportunity to maintain them," he said. "Marcus and I are still close. Charlie is Charlie. Mosi Tatupu calls about once a month. Lynn Cain calls me. Jeremi Rudolph called me a few weeks ago. James Wofford and Larry Croom do too. It shows that relationship meant something with them. And that makes you feel good."

Jackson was asked why he didn't just retire and spend his golden years on the beach somewhere now.

"I couldn't do that," he said. "I need something to challenge me physically and mentally. That's the way I feel, so that's what I'm going to do."

If past history is any indication, look for his future endeavors to be a major success.