One thought crossed the mind of Florida football wide receiver Kahleil Jackson before he hoisted his 48-yard completion to tight end Amir Jackson on a trick play against Auburn.
Don’t throw it short.
Three years ago, when Jackson tried a similar trick play for the Florida Gators against Vanderbilt, his pass attempt came up short and was intercepted.
“I had to redeem myself,” Jackson said. “I know, like, two, three years ago maybe, I had one against Vandy. And I didn’t lead him enough and it ain’t turned out how we wanted it. So, I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.”
Amir Jackson made a diving, over-the-shoulder catch to help preserve the completion, which set up a field goal during UF’s 44-39 win at Auburn on September 19.
Jackson took a lateral screen from Florida quarterback Aaron Philo before firing the pass downfield on the trick play that offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner added to the playbook two weeks ago.
“Everybody was pumped up,” Jackson said. “They knew this is what I always wanted to do in a game, and they know from the past I had that one, I let slip. So, this was good to get another chance to do it.”
A former quarterback at Hawthorne High School, Jackson said he remains confident in his ability to throw the football.
“I hit it every time we did it, except for in the walkthrough the morning before the game, I threw it in the curtain in the hotel,” Jackson said. “But, yeah, we ran it probably like 20 times, so I was ready when it came.”
Jackson said Florida got the right look from the Auburn defense to execute the play.
“It pretty much was exactly what we got in the game, the same look,” Jackson said. “We replicated that throughout practice that we knew that’s what they were going to do out of that look. So, every time we did it in practice, that’s pretty much the same result we got.”
Florida coach Jon Sumrall admitted he was hesitant at first to sign off on the trick play, but after seeing how Auburn’s defense was aligned, told Faulkner to “let it rip.”
“They were playing a man zero-ish type coverage, and the guy that had Amir thought he’d like to go tackle the guy with the ball,” Sumrall said. “So worked out good, but great call. Really, really, really good, big play. There were several of those types of scenarios in the game that I thought we had a good call at the right time.”
It’s been a long road back for Jackson, who is in his seventh year of college after sitting out the last two seasons due a torn ACL and second knee surgery to repair torn cartilage. Jackson also got an extra year of school from the NCAA due to the 2020 COVID season.
““Yeah, it was a long, tough 18 months, two years. You know, it was — it was definitely a tough journey,” Jackson said. “A lot of hard days, long days, struggling with the injuries and stuff. But I think, you know, with the right mindset, that’s ultimately what led me to push through.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
How Kahleil Jackson 'redeemed himself' in Florida football trick play vs Auburn – Gainesville Sun
