Bo knows? Bo Jackson claims he could run for ‘350, 400 yards a game’ in today’s NFL
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Auburn legend Bo Jackson was one of the best dual-sport athletes ever before a hip injury ended his NFL and MLB careers.
However, it seems Jackson wishes he could have played during this era of football, as rules have evolved to benefit offenses greatly.
Appearing on Deion Sanders’ podcast this week, Jackson said he thinks he could run for 350-400 yards per game against today’s NFL defenses (via AL.com):
“With me, even when I do see a little bit of it, I’m not going to say it’s frustrating, but it’s disappointing,” Jackson said, “because – let me ask you this: When was the last time you watched a baseball game and saw a baseball game where everybody was doing the basics? When was the last time you saw a hit-and-run? Everybody’s swinging for the fence now. You either hit it out the park or strike out. Either hit it out the park or strike out. Nobody practices base stealing. Nobody practices hit-and-run. Nobody practices hitting the cutoff man, and so forth and so on.
“In football, I’ll say the same thing. Nobody wraps up and tackles no more. With me being a ball-carrier, my coach taught us, No. 1, he said, ‘I know you can run, but I’m going to teach you how to carry that football.’ He said, ‘That football is like your newborn baby. Don’t ever put it on the ground. And keep it away from the enemy.’ It’s like this – and I watch technique – I don’t see nobody hitting and wrapping up. Everybody’s running into each other and trying to use their shoulder pads to knock the ball-carrier down. And I’m like, if I played during this era, man, I’d be averaging 350, 400 yards a game because nobody wraps up anymore. They run into each other with their pads.”
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
