Poll results: Who will be Michigan’s leading receiver?

Tag: Jeremy Jackson


25Oct 2013
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Poll results: Who will be Michigan’s leading receiver?

This is a poll I took over the summer, prior to the season. Then things got busy and I didn’t have a chance to post the results.

Who do you think Michigan’s leading receiver will be in 2013? All statistics are through seven games.

Jeremy Gallon: 79%
Gallon took a pretty commanding lead with his 369-yard performance against Indiana, but as of now, he has 45 catches for 831 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Amara Darboh: 10%
Darboh suffered a foot injury shortly before the season began, has not played, and is expected to miss the rest of the year.

Devin Funchess: 3%
Funchess has 23 catches for 492 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was pushing Gallon for the lead, but now he’s 339 yards behind.

Drew Dileo: 1% (6 votes)
Dileo has 8 catches for 99 yards and 1 touchdown. I expect him to catch a few more passes down the stretch, but he’s obviously out of the running.

Jehu Chesson: 1% (5 votes)
Chesson’s 7 catches for 98 yards and 1 touchdown aren’t particularly impressive, but the physical skills are there to be a leading receiver someday. He needs to work on his hands and on adjusting to balls in the air.

Jeremy Jackson: 1% (4 votes)
Jackson has notched 5 catches for 53 yards.

Da’Mario Jones: 1% (4 votes)
Jones has yet to see time on offense, although he has played on special teams.

Joe Reynolds: 1% (4 votes)
Reynolds has 3 catches for 56 yards after being passed up for playing time by Chesson.

Csont’e York: 1% (4 votes)
York has played sparingly this season and has yet to make a catch.

Other: 0% (2 votes)
I don’t know who else might have received a vote. Maybe Dennis Norfleet’s parents stopped by to vote.

Jaron Dukes: 0% (0 votes)
Yeah, nobody voted for him.

21Oct 2013
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Michigan vs. Indiana Awards

Devin Gardner passed for 503 yards and ran for 81, totaling 5 touchdowns.

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Erik Magnuson. Magnuson started at right guard on Saturday afternoon, and things went fairly well (248 team rushing yards, 7 touchdowns). His body still needs some work, but he’s suited just fine for guard if Michigan is going to run a lot of spread looks. The left guard spot still looks questionable, but I thought Magnuson looked solid for Michigan’s “new look” offense.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Jeremy Jackson. Slot receiver Drew Dileo appeared to have been injured and spent much of the game on the sideline with a headset (why does a slot receiver need a headset?), and Jackson stepped in with 2 catches for 23 yards. I have never been a fan of Jackson, largely because of his lack of speed. Here’s hoping that Dileo comes back for the next game, because he’s a superior target who can run a little bit after the catch.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Jourdan Lewis. Lewis played as a backup cornerback yesterday and ended the day with 5 solo tackles. He was beaten on a long pass, but the coverage was almost perfect. He also nearly had a pick on a late throw by Tre Roberson, tipping it into the hands of safety Thomas Gordon. Michigan might need not need him for a few weeks, but Lewis could be valuable against up-tempo teams like Northwestern.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Channing Stribling. Cornerback Stribling started the game because Michigan spent almost the entire day with at least five defensive backs, moving Blake Countess into the slot. It looked like Stribling blew a coverage on Indiana slot receiver Shane Wynn’s 5-yard touchdown catch, and Stribling also got out-muscled and out-techniqued by Kofi Hughes on a 67-yard touchdown. Instead of leaping with his fingers up to get the ball at its highest point, Stribling tried to cradle the ball into his chest – a high school-level technique issue – and allowed Hughes to come over the top for a catch. The coaches seem to like Stribling more than Lewis, perhaps because of the difference in size and strength; but Lewis seems to be more ready for the speed of the college game.

Play of the game . . . Jeremy Gallon’s first 70-yard catch. In an unbalanced set, quarterback Devin Gardner ran a play fake to the left. As he turned around, Indiana’s backside end came bearing down on him, forcing Gardner to sidearm the throwback to Gallon. Gallon caught it in stride, came inside his block, dodged a couple tacklers, and started racing downfield. Meanwhile, center Graham Glasgow was almost stride for stride with Gallon for about 40 yards before finally realizing that he’s supposed to be slow. Safety Greg Heban eventually chased down Gallon on the right sideline, but it was a pretty play up to that point.

MVP of the game . . . Devin Gardner and Jeremy Gallon. I can’t pick just one, so they share the trophy. Without Gallon, Gardner doesn’t have a record-setting day. And without Gardner, Gallon doesn’t have a record-setting day. Take away either one, and this likely would have gone down as a loss. Gardner had the second-best total yardage performance in Big Ten history (503 passing, 81 rushing), set a school record for passing yards, and totaled 5 touchdowns. Gallon had the best receiving yardage total in Big Ten history (369 yards) while catching 14 passes and scoring 2 touchdowns; he also had two 70-yard receptions in one game, similar to Roy Roundtree’s 246-yard performance against Illinois in 2010 in which he had two 75-yarders.

16Sep 2013
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Michigan vs. Akron Awards

Jehu Chesson

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Chris Bryant. If Michigan wants to run zone stretch, then perhaps Bryant isn’t the guy. But I do think he’s more powerful than Graham Glasgow, giving the team a bigger advantage on the power runs. And pass protection could afford to be improved at either guard position; both Glasgow and Kyle Kalis get confused too easily.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . Jeremy Jackson. In the past two seasons, I have seen a couple interceptions thrown at least partly because Jackson is so slow and defensive backs can bait quarterbacks into thinking he’s open. On Saturday, Jackson was crossing toward the right sideline in the endzone, and Gardner tried to hit him on the run; Jackson was easily undercut by an Akron defensive back. I don’t mind seeing Jackson on running downs, but Michigan has numerous more athletic players for the passing game. Even if Michigan has to burn the redshirt of someone like Da’Mario Jones, I think Jackson’s playing time should diminish.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Willie Henry. Henry played more against Akron than any other team this year, and he acquitted himself pretty well. He’s built low to the ground and very stout, and he’s capable of creating penetration on running downs that I just don’t see from the other 3-tech rotation players. From what I saw on Saturday, I might even suggest Henry as the starter over Jibreel Black. Black is a better pass rusher but often a liability against the run because he’s so undersized.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Chris Wormley. Maybe it’s the ACL or his age or lack of experience or whatever, but every time I see Wormley on the field, he’s just not doing anything productive. He’s not powerful enough to bull rush guys, and he’s not quick enough to run around them. The 3-tech/5-tech rotation should consist of some combination of Keith Heitzmann, Black, Henry, and Matt Godin, with guys like Wormley and Ryan Glasgow playing only when absolutely necessary.

Play of the game . . . Devin Gardner to Jehu Chesson for a 33-yard touchdown. There weren’t many plays that stood out a great deal – no sacks, the interceptions weren’t spectacular, Jeremy Gallon didn’t make a highlight-reel grab for once, etc. I strongly considered Gardner’s 48-yard touchdown pass to Devin Funchess, which was perhaps more impressive but not quite as clutch. Michigan was scuffling throughout the game, and it showed no signs of going away. Chesson grabbed a short pass over the middle, shucked a guy, sprinted toward the sideline, and ran through a [piss poor] tackle attempt by an Akron defensive end before zipping into the endzone. That put Michigan up 21-10 in the third quarter. Obviously, the Wolverines continued to struggle, but the speed of Chesson showed me that he could do some big things before he leaves Ann Arbor.

MVP of the game . . . Fitzgerald Toussaint. Gardner put up 248 passing yards and 103 rushing yards, but he also turned over the ball four times. Toussaint looked like the running back of old on his way to 19 carries for 71 yards and 1 touchdown, along with 1 reception for 27 yards. His numbers would have been better if a couple runs wouldn’t have been called back for holding (probably closer to 21 carries for 120 yards). One thing I have also noticed with Toussaint is an improvement in pass protection. He did noticeably whiff on a blitzing linebacker, but he’s much more physical than he used to be.

17Jul 2013
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2013 Season Countdown: #43 Jeremy Jackson

Jeremy Jackson

Name: Jeremy Jackson
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Ann Arbor (MI) Huron
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #17
Last year: I ranked Jackson #37 and said he would have 8 catches, 100 yards, and 1 touchdown as a backup wide receiver. He had 4 receptions for 31 yards.

It’s probably pretty rare that a senior gets downgraded on this list to such a degree, but Jackson put up pretty paltry numbers last season, and it can’t be blamed entirely on Denard Robinson. Devin Gardner played a large chunk of the year at quarterback, and even his superior passing skills couldn’t get Jackson to make a splash. The bottom line is that Jackson is too slow to be much of a passing threat, and he’s not that great of a blocker for his size. One problem with having slow receivers is that even if they get “open,” talented defensive backs can make up ground, undercut them, etc. and make plays that other receivers might be able to prevent. He would probably be better off bulking up to 215-220 lbs. and using the added mass to help in the running game, but that doesn’t look like it will happen.

Going into his senior year, Jackson will be in a major fight for playing time. Fifth year senior Jeremy Gallon will probably lead the team in receiving, and two relative newcomers have been earning a fair amount of mentions by the coaches: sophomore Amara Darboh and redshirt freshman Jehu Chesson. I have learned not to trust the coaches by what they say through the media, but I think that hype might be legitimate. If I had to guess right now, I’d say Gallon, Darboh, and Chesson will be Michigan’s top three wideouts, and Jackson will be battling with senior Drew Dileo, walk-on Joe Reynolds, and some freshmen for the scraps. So far Jackson has 4, 3, and 4 receptions in his first three seasons, and that production probably won’t change much this year. However, it’s tough for a skill player to play four years and not have his chance to shine for a moment, so I’m guessing we’ll see Jackson make an important catch sometime this year.

Prediction: Backup slot receiver; 3 receptions, 40 yards, 1 touchdown