Oct. 3, 2001
By Joel Cost – Host Communications
Keeping in touch with friends you coached with in the NFL might someday serve useful. That day came for Harold Jackson when he got the call from Guy Morriss asking him to come to UK to coach the Wildcat wide receivers. “I was almost ready to go back to the NFL,” said Jackson. “When he called me and said he needed some help. I thought it would be a good chance to do something different, and I really enjoy working with these young men.”
When asked how he would draw on 16 years of being an NFL receiver to help him motivate his receivers to the level of SEC football, Jackson said “They know that I’ve been there, that I know what’s going on. These kids are really trying to learn. When wake-up calls came at five in the morning and practice started at six, not once did any of the kids complain. (They were) reaching out for someone to really push them.”
Coach Mark Nelson has been associated with the defensive side of the ball for some years now and has had much success as a special teams coach in 1993 when he was named the Special Teams Coach of the Year in the CFL – a year he was on staff of the Grey Cup champion Edmonton Eskimos.
With all of his defensive and special teams experience in the CFL, look for UK’s special teams to be “simple but aggressive” this season, according to Nelson. “We’re teaching these kids to do a few things, really well, then we let them go out there and play,” he said. “And one of the main reasons that they will be better this year is that Coach Morriss emphasizes special teams. Every one on this staff has been a special teams coach before. The whole staff supports it because they have all done it before … they know the importance of it.”
Coach Nelson’s kids see that he cares. He brings total sincerity and honesty to the table, and hopes that they will be able to learn from his experience.
“I have gained some experience over the years,” he said. “But I’m not the greatest coach in the world and I sure don’t know everything. I learn every day. There are so many great coaches on our staff that I learn something new every day. We are all in this together and if every day that you get out of bed or go on the field you learn something … do that 365 days a year and you’re going to improve.”
Jackson said that this year you will be seeing the ball spread around “quite a bit more” than last season, adding that “you’d love to have a guy like Quinten McCord that you can hang your hat on, but we’ve got some guys on the field that can do a pretty good job for us, and I think a lot of people are going to be very surprised at what we have here. We might not have one ‘top notch’ guy, but these guys will be able to step in and play the roles we expect them to play.”
Both Jackson and Nelson understand that their players are striving to get to that next level. And they let them know the importance of the college education that they are receiving now. “Ninety-five percent of players that play pro football do not make enough money to live happily ever after,” said Nelson. “And let’s be honest, we’re here to get a college education and there is no greater place I can see in Kentucky than UK to get a college education. There’s probably no greater place in the U.S.”
He tells his players when they come to UK, they have an opportunity to get a great education at a great university and to have some fun. For Coach Nelson it is an honor for him to be able to work with Coach Morriss, to be at the University of Kentucky and to coach in the best football conference in the country.
“I had only been through Kentucky one time before,” he said. “But since I’ve been here I’ve learned four things. First, the people of Kentucky are proud of their state. Second, they love UK. There are other great schools throughout the state, but there is only one UK. Third, this isn’t just a basketball state, the people here love football. And finally, the people are great supporters of UK football.”
Coach Nelson is confident that the fans will see that they will put a product on the field that, “will rightfully represent what UK is about.” Jackson is already planning on bettering that product for the future years to come. His approach to recruiting is to go for the top receiver out there. “
If I was a young receiver being recruited, it wouldn’t be a hard choice for me to come here,” he said. “Coach Morriss has a great scheme and a good passing attack.”
That high potent offense along with a swarming special teams under these two coaches will make for a thrilling season of UK football, and a very, very bright future – which makes Coach Jackson and Coach Nelson extremely happy.
