Lamar Jackson sure knows how to hurdle. We all saw as much against Syracuse last week, when the Louisville Cardinals quarterback's leap over a defender left stunned viewers wondering how he did it, and how high he actually went in the air.

One viewer in Florida had a different reaction. Rick Swain, who coached Jackson at Boynton Beach High, watched the play and immediately had a flashback to a game during Jackson’s junior season. Jackson hurdled a defender and scored a touchdown, but the referees called it back.

As it turns out, the rules in high school prohibit hurdling in a football game. An apoplectic Swain yelled at the official, “What’s he supposed to do, stand there so the guy can tear his legs off?” Swain said the official responded, “I think it’s a stupid rule, Coach, but it is the rule.”

Boynton Beach ended up scoring on the drive anyway. When he returned to the sideline, Jackson said to Swain, “Coach, I didn’t know that was against the rules in high school.”

Swain looked at his quarterback and replied: “To be quite frank, Lamar, I’ve never had anybody do it and I didn’t know it was against the rules, either.”

“I will never forget that play,” Swain said during a recent phone call.

Not many will soon forget the play against Syracuse, either. On the sideline, Louisville offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway wondered what Jackson was thinking. Jackson said, “I couldn’t go anywhere else.”

“He shouldn’t have had to jump,” Galloway said. “He pulled the ball, and we were supposed to be there blocking. Guys got loose, and then the next thing you know he jumped, and then everybody just looked at each other and said, ‘OK, that’s him.’”

Galloway was at West Virginia while Jackson was in high school. JaJuan Seider, who recruits the South Florida area for the Mountaineers, pushed hard for Jackson. But West Virginia had early quarterback commitments and it never worked out.

After Galloway arrived at Louisville in March and saw Jackson practice and work, he told Seider, “Boy, you were sure right about this one!”

Jackson has shown time and again it simply is best not to doubt him. Think he was in over his head when he threw an interception on his first play as a true freshman? Jackson nearly led a comeback win over Auburn.

Think he is too young to be a leader at age 19? Louisville made him a team captain. Think he has padded his stats against weaker competition? He scored four touchdowns and totaled more than 400 yards against Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl last season.

Think he is a runner only? Jackson unleashed a 72-yard touchdown pass on his first play from scrimmage against Syracuse.

He is the biggest reason the No. 10 Cards have become a national story headed into the big matchup against Florida State on Saturday. Though the Seminoles have the tradition, recent championships and a talented quarterback themselves, Jackson has generated the buzz.

In two games, he has 13 touchdowns and scored more points than anybody in college football (78). Think he has more rushing than passing touchdowns? Think again.

“He’s any kind of quarterback you want,” Swain said. “He can be a pro-style quarterback, but why not take advantage of both? His skill set is basically second to none.”

Jackson started getting recruited heavily his junior year, when he began playing for Swain. Then-Louisville assistant Lamar Thomas played for and coached under Swain and took a look at the game tape. The passing, and not the running, stood out. He eventually convinced coach Bobby Petrino to offer Jackson a scholarship.

The August before his senior season, Jackson committed to Louisville. But as signing day loomed, some predicted Jackson ultimately would turn his back on Louisville and sign with the in-state Gators. Jackson tends to prove his doubters wrong, right? He stuck with Louisville in part because he had built a strong relationship with Thomas.

But after the bowl victory to close 2015, Thomas moved on to Kentucky and offensive coordinator Garrick McGee went to Illinois. Some wondered what would happen to Jackson and his development because he lost the two coaches he was closest with on the Louisville staff.

“I thought that was going to be tough for him, but he told me, ‘I feel totally comfortable,’” Swain recounted. “He lost his offensive coordinator and his confidant, but he said, ‘Look, I’m established here, I’m good.’”

The success he has had these first two weeks -- and the growing publicity -- have proved as much. And none of it has changed how he goes about his day, Galloway said.

“My point to him was be yourself,” Galloway said. “And he has.”

Swain says Jackson’s nickname in high school was “Smiley face.” No matter what happened in a practice or game, Jackson kept his cool and would reassure Swain with a breezy, “We got this, Coach!”

Sounds like the perfect motto for somebody used to hurdling the doubters.