2019 Season Countdown: #63 Jake McCurry
Name: Jake McCurry
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Solon (OH) Solon
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #43
Last year: I ranked McCurry #97 and said he would be a backup wide receiver and special teamer (LINK). He caught 2 passes for 33 yards and 1 touchdown, along with making 10 tackles.
TTB Rating: N/A
On September 25, 2010, Michigan fullback John McColgan caught a pass from quarterback Tate Forcier that put the Wolverines up 36-14 over Bowling Green State University.
And until September 8, 2018, against Western Michigan University, no other Michigan walk-on caught a touchdown pass until Jake McCurry did when he scurried into the endzone from 18 yards away.
McCurry didn’t exactly burst onto the scene in 2018, but he did come out of nowhere. A nondescript preferred walk-on in 2017, he won the Scout Team Player of the Year as a true freshman and found his way onto the field in some key moments in 2018. Not just for the touchdown against the Broncos, but for a much maligned slot fade target against Ohio State. While that slot fade target did not work out well (it fell incomplete but should have been flagged for defensive pass interference), it did indicate how much confidence the coaching staff was placing in McCurry.
This season McCurry is not going to be a target hog, but he has shown that he can contribute effectively on special teams. And on certain occasions, Shea Patterson (or others) will probably try to get him the ball through the air. McCurry is someone who can fill in the cracks and do some dirty work on special teams, and those guys are valuable.
And maybe there won’t be another eight-year window between walk-on touchdown receptions.
Prediction: Backup wide receiver, special teamer
