Dec 24, 2002 3 min read

PHOENIX (AP) – Steven Jackson of Oregon State might be the best college running back most of the country hasn’t seen. The sophomore tailback, the Pac-10’s leading rusher and a third-team all-American, is looking forward to showing what he can do on national TV when the Beavers meet Pittsburgh on Thursday night in the Insight Bowl.

“There’s a lot of guys out there who don’t know my name yet,” Jackson said Monday. “Hopefully I can use this as a center stage for me.”

After watching game film, the Panthers certainly know about Jackson. The 6-foot-1, 227-pound back broke Ken Simonton’s season rushing record at Oregon State with 1,656 yards, averaging 5.5 yards a carry and ranking fifth nationally. He won the Pac-10 rushing title by nearly 600 yards over runner-up Onterrio Smith of Oregon.

“He’s definitely up there with the people we’ve faced this year,” Pittsburgh linebacker Brian Beinecke said, “and we’ve faced Willis McGahee, Avon Cobourne, and their numbers say enough for themselves.”

Jackson does it with a combination of power and speed, along with a mean stiff-arm.

“I try to run with attitude,” he said. “I try to make a statement. I try to be like dynamite for our team. A quarterback can’t really set the pace of a game, but a running back can. If you see a running back coming out hard, juking guys or running over them, I think that gets the rest of the team fired up.”

Oregon State offensive guard Mike Kuykendall likens Jackson to a bar band about to break into the big-time.

“It would be like 20 years ago if you saw Metallica play in a bar somewhere and you had no idea they were going to be the biggest band in the world,” Kuykendall said. “Then you’re watching them and you’re like “These guys are pretty good’ and they turn out to be just enormous. I have a feeling that’s what he’s going to be.”

Jackson averaged 178 yards in his last five games. Not coincidentally, Oregon State went 4-1.

As a freshman, Jackson played on special teams and was backup to the senior Simonton in a 5-6 season, gaining 406 yards in just 74 carries.

This year, the starting tailback job was his from the beginning. In the first seven games, Jackson never carried more than 25 times. Immediately after he gained 58 yards in just 14 attempts in a 13-9 loss at Arizona State, Jackson went to the coaches and asked if he could get more carries.

“You have a 230-pound running back in the backfield,” Jackson said. “I just asked them to give me a chance and see what the outcome would be. With a three-game losing streak, you have to find something different.”

The following week, in a 24-13 victory home over California, Jackson carried 35 times for a career-best 239 yards, a Reser Stadium record.

He had 27 carries against Arizona, 35 against Washington, 35 against Stanford and 36 against Oregon.

“He’s really something special,” Kuykendall said.

“I mean, it’s amazing. To have the combination of the size, the speed, the power, the smarts, all that stuff. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s really the total package.”