Quite simply, Balkcom wanted to get away.

When he took over for longtime coach John Harris in April 2007, Balkcom stepped into a mess. There were 35 ineligible athletes, he has to assemble a coaching staff, and lots of discipline needed to be instilled.

Facing such adversity, the Generals had a poor season. They followed a 35-0 loss to Krop in the spring -- in a half, mind you -- with an atrocious 1-9 season.

''It was brutal,'' said Balkcom, 40, whose career took him from playing safety for Walter Highsmith at Edison High to winning a national championship at Georgia Tech in 1990, a brief stint with the Dolphins, coaching high schools in Georgia and then most recently as an assistant at the University of Central Florida.

''During the spring game, we had 16 kids dress out,'' he said. 'Everybody kept waiting for the rest of the team to come out of the locker room. I had to explain that was it. It was a long year. I just kept saying, `Dear Lord, make me a bird so I can fly far away.' ''

Balkcom can joke about where the program once was now. He now has full confidence the Generals will soon be making opponents feel the pain they endured last season. Jackson's blowout losses included a 40-0 drubbing by North Miami Beach, 34-0 rout by Coral Gables, a 36-0 clobbering by district rival Booker T. Washington and an embarrassing 46-0 loss to Soul Bowl rival Northwestern.

Jackson, which reached the Class 4A regional final in 2006 with a 9-4 season, finally started looking like the school it once used to be this spring. Despite tying Miami High 6-6 in a half of jamboree football on May 23, the Generals displayed the size, speed and skill once common to the school's hallways. Only one player did not participate because of eligibility issues, although several others, including junior quarterback Rashard Stewart (6-0, 175), were injured.

''We will look like a new team overnight once he gets back in there,'' Balkcom said of Stewart, who started the Generals' final four games last season, including the team's only victory -- 20-7 against Nova.

''People talk all about the young quarterback at Central [ Jeffrey Godfrey]. But I'll put this kid up against anybody,'' Balkcom said. ``He can play anywhere in the nation and he's definitely going to be a Top 100 kid next year.''

Stewart is one of a handful of underclassmen Balkcom is real excited about. The 2010 class features cornerback Kaytron Becton (5-10, 171), linebacker Graylan Mitcheler (6-0, 197) and running back Aaron Killings (5-10, 174). The 2011 class has Robensen Therezie, a 5-11, 185-pound linebacker who started every game last season as a freshman.

''He's a violent hitter,'' Balkcom said of Therezie. ``Kaytron has blazing speed and great hands.''

But it's Jackson's 2009 class Balkcom is most proud of. He already has six players with college scholarship offers -- all are also full academic qualifiers.

Three are talented linemen. Renato Cunha, a 6-4, 285 tackle with a 3.3 GPA and 20 on his ACT, has offers from UCF, South Florida and Vanderbilt. David Martin, a 6-3, 283-pound transfer from Miami Beach, has UCF and Kansas State hot on his trail. And Joaquensi Eugene (6-3, 255) has a 3.5 GPA and 18 ACT score and Alabama State, Howard, Liberty and Alcorn State chasing.

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