Coach hopes for big things from small player

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Aug. 12, 2005 | 10:07 a.m.

Height does not determine success in college football at the running back position. Here are some players who, like UNLV's Erick Jackson, were considered vertically challenged but lived large on the field:

Standing just 5-foot-6 and weighing 180 pounds, Erick Jackson is the smallest running back on UNLV's roster and one of the shortest in college football.

But that lack of size doesn't mean first-year Rebels head coach Mike Sanford isn't expecting big things from the quietly confident junior from Paraclete High School in Palmdale, Calif.

"Based on what I saw in the spring, I do believe he has the ability to be a big-time back and really good in this offense," Sanford said. "Coming into fall camp he's the No. 1 guy there. ... He's a tough, smart guy with good running instincts. He will make a lot of people miss and he's also a good pass protector for his size."

You could say Jackson definitely has some big shoes to fill.

Dominique Dorsey, who at 5-foot-7 towered over Jackson, won the Mountain West Conference rushing crown last season with 1,261 yards. So maybe size doesn't matter when it comes to playing running back in college football.

Jackson, for one, thinks so.

"I'm used to my size by now," Jackson said. "I've always had to prove myself my whole life so its not a problem now.

"I have a different mindset than a lot of people. I just go out and, regardless of my size, I know I can compete as hard as someone who is 6-foot-2. If anything, I think I might have an advantage out there because of my size."

You can't tackle what you can't see. And Jackson, like Dorsey, can be hard for opposing defenders to find running behind offensive linemen that are on average about a foot taller and a foot or two wider than he is.

"I can disappear," Jackson said. "I may not be tall but I'm definitely not small. I mean I weigh 185 pounds and, pound for pound, am the strongest player on the team right now."

Jackson owns several team conditioning records for his size including one for power clean (307 pounds) and pro shuttle (3.86 seconds). He also benches 320 pounds.

"So to me the height thing doesn't make any difference," he said. "It's all about heart and just the will to do it. I feel I'm blessed to do the things I do."

Jackson believes he fits right into Sanford's new shotgun spread option attack.

"It's wonderful," he said. "It spreads the field out. It leaves gaps. It's good for my running style, and it's good for the team."

"He has good passing-game savvy," Sanford said of Jackson. "He knows how to run (pass) routes and he can also get open and make catches. He has good hands."

The big question is can Jackson, who has carried the ball only 31 times in his college career, hold up to pounding that will come with carrying the main load over an 11-game season?

"I don't believe you can go through a season with just one back," Sanford said. "You've got to have two or three. What we're going to do is figure out who those other guys are. And we're going to play the best guys."

"It's all mental," Jackson said. "I feel I can do it. I know I can do it. I think my strength as a back is that I run like I'm 6-foot-2. I don't have any fear out there. I've been playing this game all my life and I don't run like a small back. I run like I know I can break tackles. I can outrun people. The main thing is to just go out and run well."

Sanford made the move before Thursday morning's practice to give Jackson a fairer shot at the job.

"What ended up happening is (the silver team) has a lot of young guys who are not real good on their assignments yet," Sanford said. "So the (silver) quarterbacks suffered a little bit from the crispness of the routes and also where everybody is supposed to be. And Jarrod suffered a little through that."

USC transfer Rocky Hinds switched spots with Jackson.

Wright, who intercepted a pass in the Trojans' national championship-clinching Orange Bowl victory against Oklahoma last season, withdrew from school in June before a USC student affairs hearing was conducted to determine his punishment after police found 136 ecstasy pills in his apartment during a sexual assualt investigation.

The Los Angeles Daily News reported Thursday that Wright has already enrolled at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif.

That practice will also mark the final one that is open to the public during fall camp.

After taking Sunday off, the Rebels will hold two closed workouts on Monday.