The audience watched a pair of future NFL stars in this November 2013 playoff game, but more than a half-decade later, then-Boynton Beach Community (Fla.) quarterback Lamar Jackson and then-Miami Central (Fla.) running back Dalvin Cook recall the warmups as well as anything in the game itself.
Cook was a consensus five-star athlete, ranked the No. 2 running back in the country, and the best player on a championship-or-bust team. Jackson, a three-star player who had just transferred to a team that had hadn’t won five games in a season in more than 10 years, still had people questioning his ability to play at the college level.
So prior to their playoff matchup, Cook went to watch the warmups of Jackson, the opposing quarterback who led his team to a 10-1 record and its best season in more than a decade. Cook recounted the moment to The Athletic last week:
“I was watching him amazed because he looked like a wideout,” Cook said. “I’m looking at him like, ‘This is the guy they’re talking about? He’s small as shit.’ I was looking like, ‘We’re going to break him apart.’ It looked like he ain’t touched no weights.”
He quickly saw why Jackson was so good. The soon-to-be star took the opening play to the house for an 80-yard touchdown, according to The Athletic.
But Cook wasn’t exactly wrong about everything. Jackson quote-tweeted the story with a hilarious response:
🤣I definitely never touched them weightz in high school https://t.co/gmhjGjVUj4
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) November 8, 2021
He didn’t need to touch the weights, totaling 248 passing yards and 194 rushing yards against the powerhouse, per the Athletic. Miami Central had college-level players at nearly every position and walked to a championship, but Jackson and Co. gave them their toughest challenge of the year.
The 55-37 Rockets win was Miami Central’s closest margin of the postseason and the only time in the entire year they allowed more than 21 points.
As good as Jackson was, Cook was similarly dominant, rushing for three touchdowns and adding another on an 85-yard punt return. He also played defense in effort to slow down Jackson.
It was the first matchup of many between the two. The Athletic article was published ahead of the Ravens and Vikings overtime thriller on Nov. 7, and this time Jackson got the upper hand with a 34-31 win.
In this game, Cook didn’t need to watch warmups to size up the star.
