Michigan State University Athletics
Ten Seconds That Will Live Forever
10/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Jalen Watts-Jackson had 10 seconds in the national spotlight.
On Wednesday, the red-shirt freshman Michigan State defensive back finally spent some hard-earned time in the limelight.
Although his improbable 38-yard fumble return for a touchdown provided the decisive points for the Spartans as time expired in Saturday night's unbelievable 27-23 victory at Michigan, Watts-Jackson has been otherwise preoccupied.
Watts-Jackson dislocated and fractured his hip as he crossed the goal line and was rushed immediately to the University of Michigan Hospital, where he underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to campus on Monday and met the media two days later.
Riddled with excruciating pain from the time he was dragged down by Wolverine tight end Jake Butt until in recovery, Watts-Jackson didn't join the wild celebration that ensued until much later.
"Even when I got to the hospital and things were settling down and people were telling me good play, I still wasn't really thinking about it because man, my hip hurt," Watts-Jackson said. "I didn't have my phone all weekend, so it first really hit me when after I got surgery and my family came.
"I was in the hospital room by myself looking at ESPN and they just kept playing it back, kept playing it back, and I'm like, `Wow, that really happened.' So it didn't really hit me at all until I was by myself in the hospital room just watching TV."
The victory raised No. 7 MSU's record to 7-0 and kept the Spartans in contention for the Big Ten East Division title, the conference championship and the College Football Playoff, in addition to adding Watts-Jackson's name to college football lore.
"I just feel it's crazy that 10 seconds could take you from just being on the team, or people acknowledging that you won the game, to people Tweeting you, and text-messaging you, (on) Facebook saying you're a legend, you're a hero," Watts-Jackson said. "It's crazy, 10 seconds for not only this program but for history."
What the NFL.com is calling the greatest play in college football history began with the odds stacked mightily against the Spartans. Michigan held a two-point lead while facing fourth down near midfield with 10 seconds remaining.
"I was looking at ESPN on Twitter and they said before the guy bobbled the ball, there's probably a 0.2 percent chance of Michigan State winning this game, and I would say that was pretty accurate, especially coming from my position where I'm just trying to hold a guy up," Watts-Jackson said. Watts-Jackson's job was to occupy the Wolverine guard long enough so backup linebacker T.J. Harrell could get through the line cleanly for a chance to block Blake O'Neill's punt.
However, O'Neill mishandled the long snap and in the meantime, MSU defensive backs Grayson Miller and Matt Morrissey were closing in fast. O'Neill got his hands on the loose ball, but when Miller hit him it went flying 18 feet to Watts-Jackson, who gathered it out of the air on the run.
Fellow defensive back Jermaine Edmondson led a caravan of blockers up the left sideline with 5-foot-11, 192-pound Watts-Jackson in tow.
"My job wasn't even to block the punt," Watts-Jackson said. "I was supposed to keep my guy from pushing me into the guy (Harrell) who was supposed to block the punt. So, everything that led up to me grabbing the ball, I had no idea what was going on because the guy that was blocking me was like 6-6, so I couldn't even see through him.
"But once I finally got past him, I just saw the ball and I grabbed it. I looked up at the clock to see how much time we had left because at that point I knew I couldn't be tackled. When I looked up, I saw six seconds and I knew we didn't have time to get out of bounds or kick a field goal, so I was going to try to score."
Edmondson eventually threw the block that sprung Watts-Jackson into the end zone.
"Jermaine was actually running toward me and I was biting down on my mouth guard so hard I couldn't even tell him to turn around," Watts-Jackson said. "But he just turned around and started blocking. I dipped my head and was actually going to dive into the end zone because I didn't know if I was going to make it or not, and after that it was pretty much pure pain."
Instead of feeling like a hero, however, Watts-Jackson switched immediately into self-preservation mode because his teammates naturally wanted to swarm him in jubilation.
"It was cool to see my teammates all around me, (but) I know it was hard for them because everybody was telling to get up and celebrate," Watts-Jackson said. "But the pain was a bit much. The injury occurred when I got tackled. A lot of people thought it happened under the pile, but as soon as I hit the ground I felt it. Even going back and watching the play, I could see my leg leaning across my other leg and I'm like, yeah, it was messed up right then and there.
"At first, it was just a few guys on me, and I'm like, `Get off of me, get off of me, my hip, my hip.' Then I saw (defensive tackle) Lawrence Thomas come over and he's like, `Bro, you won us the game.' And he's like trying to get me up and I'm like, `My hip, my hip.' He did this to try to keep me back but next thing I know he's face-to-face with me and there was like a pile-on.
"I was yelling, `Get them off me, get them off me.' It felt like I was under there for an hour, but after watching it, I guess it I wasn't under that long. Being under the pile, with all those people, (me) being about 190 pounds, it's not that fun of an experience."
The well-wishers who have reached out to Watts-Jackson have made it a little more enjoyable, however. He received so many messages, his cell phone froze. Meantime, his teammates have elevated well above his third-team status.
"My teammates have been making jokes, saying `Bro, you're about to get a statue made of you, you're going to get your name put up in the stadium,' " Watts-Jackson said. "So really, we've just been making fun of the situation."
Watts-Jackson has to keep pressure off the hip for three months and is moving with the help of a walker. His total rehabilitation could take six-to-seven months.
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio has since dubbed the play "Rangers: Mission: 4:10," to commemorate the name of the punt-block unit, asking the players to be four times mentally tougher than physically tough and the 10 seconds remaining before the fateful play unfolded.
"Going to the U of M Hospital there were a lot of U of M fans, but I want to thank everybody at the University of Michigan Hospital for making me feel at home," Watts-Jackson said. "Everyone was so nice, everyone was congratulating me and making sure I was OK.
"That takes a lot because I know how big of a rivalry it is, especially after seeing how people react in the stands. I want thank the doctors who helped me out and the nurse who had these long conversations, Christina, with me. They made a situation that was not just crazy but painful, go by fast and make it a lot easier."
