“It was one of those moments, like this is the opportunity to make the biggest play of my life. I can’t mess this up.”
Jaylen Smith recalling his mind as the pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson sailed his way with 13 seconds remaining. He reached up over the outstretched arms of a defender, giving his University of Louisville football team a must-have win over Virginia.
During the UofL press conference on Monday, he gave the credit to Jackson saying, “I can’t explain in detail how good that pass was, getting the ball over the defensive back’s hands and right to me. It was amazing.”
The 6-foot-4 sophomore end from Pascagoula, Miss., said the UofL players knew they left a lot of points on the field. “We’re were beating ourselves much of the game,” he stated. “We were shooting ourselves in the foot.”
He believed the Cardinals may have been overconfident during practices leading up to the game. “The energy wasn’t there, we weren’t executing. We weren’t the same team during the week.We were happy to come out of Virginia with a win.”
Doubtful that the malaise will last long. “Now we’re going to Boston College. We know it will be a crazy environment there. There have one of the better defenses playing one of the best offensive teams. It’s a challenge we’re glad to accept.”