September 17, 2016 – number two Florida State traveling to 10th ranked Louisville. One of the most anticipated matchups between ACC foes since the fifth ranked Seminoles handed third ranked Clemson a crushing defeat in Death Valley, 51-14.

FSU was coming off a 10-3 season and a New Year’s Six bowl game defeat of #14 Houston, but there was plenty of hype surrounding the new look Noles after a come from behind win over the Ole Miss in the season opener.

*Received from: https://gocards.com/sports/football/roster/lamar-jackson/6874*

But this story isn’t about my favorite collegiate team. This is about the beginning of something great. The beginning of a Heisman worthy season. The beginning of a future NFL MVP.

The Noles were favored, likely because of their prestigious history, but that didn’t matter to the future Heisman trophy winner, Lamar Jackson. He went on to pass for 216 yards and 1 TD and torched the Noles defense on the ground for 146 yards rushing and 4 TDs in a 63-20 route.

Although Jackson amassed a total of 9000+ passing yards, 4000+ rushing yards and 119 total TDs in 3 years, there were still questions surrounding how well he would do at the next level.

We all know the stereotype that black quarterbacks are merely running backs or wide receivers playing the position if they show any type of ability to escape the pocket. We also know that this isn’t true because of players such as Deshaun Watson, Dak Prescott, Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson (to name a few) have the uncanny ability to escape the pocket but have made a living primarily through the air.

So what makes Jackson different? Why did the likes of Mel Kiper, Todd McShay, Matt Miller and other draft “gurus” have LJ as low as the sixth best quarterback in the 2018 draft class behind the likes of Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield? Why was he the fifth quarterback taken in the entire draft and the last of the first round?

As a coach, I have an answer. As a fan of football, I have an answer. As a black man, I have an answer. But none of that matters because Jackson was eventually drafted in the first round. As a FSU fan watching him torch my Noles in that 2016 game, I knew then that I would love to see him on my favorite NFL team, the Baltimore Ravens.

During the draft process, I knew there was a chance because of where the Ravens were picking (16th) and who their current quarterback was (Joe Flacco).

Flacco is a SuperBowl champ and a figure that many fans have mixed feelings about because he brought a title to the city of Baltimore. But aside from the 2014 season, while Flacco was under the guidance of offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, he had plenty of struggles (I won’t include the stats because this isn’t about Joe).

Back to the 2018 draft process..

The Ravens slid back six spots to No. 22 in a trade with the Bills. They then sent the No. 22 pick from Buffalo along with a sixth round pick to Tennessee in exchange for the No. 25 pick (Drafted TE Hayden Hurst, South Carolina) and a fourth rounder.

Before the first day of the draft was concluded, the Ravens were involved in a trio of trades, getting the final pick (32nd) of the first round as well as a fourth rounder from the Eagles to select Jackson.

Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh was adamant after the selection that Flacco was the starter and Jackson would not be switching positions from quarterback. I never to wish injury on any player, but during the preseason, I figured Flacco would either lose his spot because he suffered an injury (he was very injury prone in the past few years) or his poor play on the field would force Harbaugh to make a decision.

Jackson played sparingly as a “Wildcat” quarterback in certain situations early, but an injury to Flacco against the Steelers before the Ravens bye week forced Jackson into a starting role. Although he struggled through the air, the offensive coaching staff, lead by QB coach Greg Roman and OC Marty Mornhinweg, redesigned the offense to cater to Jackson’s strengths. Those strengths were getting him outside of the pocket, getting the ball to the Ravens’ pass catchers at Tight End, and implementing designed QB runs.

The Ravens ended the season with a record of 10-6, winning six of their last seven games in a redesigned “college-esque” offense. But the regular season success was questioned mightily when Jackson and the offense struggled in their lone playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers defense had faced the Ravens rebuilt offense just weeks before their playoff rematch, so they had an advantage that no other team had (having seen Jackson earlier in the season). They took full advantage of it by utilizing six DB packages for the majority of the game to match Jackson’s speed. That game ended in a 23-17 loss for Baltimore that would be the beginning of an improbable run.

If you’ve followed Jackson., you’d know that he’s one of the most humble guys on the planet. He never takes anything for granted. He always puts his team first. He always credits his coaches and teammates when given any type of praise. What can’t be understated, however, is his Relentless attitude to get better and his toughness and mindset that he obtained during his early years. Jackson grew up in one of the worst economic sections of Pompano Beach, Florida. His father, Lamar Jackson Sr., died in a car accident on the same day Lamar’s grandmother died in 2005. Jackson had to be raised by a single mom. The resilience and fight he had to develop in his early years of life made him into the man, quarterback and teammate he is today.

Throughout the 2019 off-season, all I heard from the Ravens staff and other beat writers was how much Jackson had improved his passing, his reads and his knowledge of the offense. His 2019 campaign showed us all that those reports didn’t give the second year quarterback due justice.

In an opening weekend, 59-10 route of the lowly Miami Dolphins, Jackson went 17-20, passed for 324 yards and 5TDs, and tacked on a perfect QB Rating. He followed that up with a 272 yard performance through the air along with 2TDs and 120 yards rushing the following week against Arizona.

Over the next two games, the Ravens and Jackson struggled as a team, losing back-to-back games to the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns. Lamar didn’t play bad in either game, but he also wasn’t as great as he was in his first two outings of the 2019 season. As always, the skeptics and the “you can’t win playing like this” people began to remind us all that Jackson would and could never be a capable passer because they could not fathom a (Black) quarterback embarrassing grown men every Sunday as he did in college.

I would be lying if I said that I would’ve thought he’d be doing this, especially in year two. That said, I wasn’t totally surprised because I watched him so many times at Louisville. But this! Yeah, this is still pretty shocking!

A 13-2 record as a starter, completing 66 percent of his passes, throwing for 3100 yards and 36 TDs to only six interceptions... and breaking the single season rushing record by a QB (previously held by Michael Vick) with 1018 yards rushing. NO ONE expected this! Even John Harbaugh would say that he thought Jackson would be really good, but not this good, this early.

Jackson’s uncanny ability to make defenders miss in space, pull away from defenders, and thread the needle after reading defenses perfectly has him in line to win the NFL’s MVP award. But no worries, he’s got much bigger goals in mind.

Performances such as two perfect passer rating games, three games where he threw for five touchdowns, and outplaying and eventually defeating some big time quarterbacks such as Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo puts Jackson’s season up there with some of the all-time greats.

If you tell Jackson he’s the MVP though, he would say he is not. He would say that his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the real MVP. He would say his Offensive Line, his trio of do-it-all TEs, his new teammate and hype man Mark Ingram, and his coaching staff are the real MVPs. Or maybe he’d say that his mom, Felicia Jones, who is also his manager, is the real MVP for raising him to be the young man and star that he is. But that’s Lamar Jackson. The humble and forever grateful star, never taking the credit for his accomplishments and accolades.

An MVP attitude to go along with his MVP performances on the field is the reason why myself and many others believe he’s going to take home the MVP hardware. His entire career and life is the reason why his run during the 2019 has been so spectacular.

Here’s to your 2019 MVP, the Improbable, Lamar Jackson.

The Improbable, Lamar Jackson

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