Tag: Jeremy Jackson

2011 Countdown: #49 Jeremy Jackson

Jeremy Jackson

Name: Jeremy Jackson
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 203 lbs.
High school: Huron High School in Ann Arbor, MI
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #17
Last year: I ranked Jackson #74 and said he would redshirt.  He caught 4 passes for 55 passes.

Jackson emerged as the only freshman wide receiver to play last season, despite being the lowest regarded as a recruited.  He played in a backup capacity and notched four receptions throughout the year, which is the same number of receptions that Junior Hemingway had as a true freshman back in 2007.  If Jackson and Hemingway have parallel career arcs, that means Jackson will . . . get injured a lot.

There wasn’t much buzz around Jackson this spring, and I imagine that’s the way it’s going to be for him.  He’s a tall red zone target without much speed or elusiveness, which is fine for a role player.  Jerald Robinson, who’s a little more athletic, seemed to garner a more attention this spring.  And with several senior receivers, I don’t imagine that Jackson (or Robinson, for that matter) will be needed to have a big season.  If Brady Hoke and Al Borges intend to spread the field and use four-receiver sets, then we might see a little more depth required at the receiver positions than the old two-back, two-receiver sets that were so common in the Lloyd Carr era.  Jackson likely won’t play a big role this year, but he should see a fair amount of time on the field.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver; 10 catches, 120 yards, 1 touchdown

2010 Recruiting Awards

Best overall recruit: Devin Gardner
Gardner will likely redshirt, but largely because there are two good sophomore quarterbacks on the team. He’s got the size, speed, arm strength, and leadership – the sky is the limit.

Best offensive recruit: Devin Gardner
Duh.

Best defensive recruit: Marvin Robinson
Robinson will go through an adjustment period, but he’s going to be a star at some point. He should be a 215 lb. heat-seeking missile within a couple years.

Recruit most likely to make an early impact: Will Hagerup
He’s virtually guaranteed to be the starting punter as a true freshman.

Fastest recruit: Josh Furman
Furman has run electronic times in the high 4.3-second range.

Strongest recruit: Ken Wilkins
A supposed workout warrior, Wilkins reportedly bench presses 365 lbs. and squats 375 – as a 244 lb. linebacker/defensive end.

Best under-the-radar recruit: Jake Ryan
Even Michigan’s middling recruits got a lot of hype, so not many qualify for this category. But Ryan has the potential to be a solid linebacker in a couple years. I’m hoping he plays middle linebacker rather than Craig Roh’s rush linebacker position.

Most overrated recruit: Jeremy Jackson
Jackson’s recruiting rankings fell slowly as the recruiting cycle wore on, but he reportedly had offers from Texas and Florida. In my opinion, his lack of speed will make college ball a very difficult transition for him.

Recruit most likely to redshirt: Christian Pace
He enrolled early, but weighed only 259 lbs. for spring ball. With two capable centers on the roster (David Molk, Rocko Khoury) and a couple other guys who have been getting snaps for two years now (Elliott Mealer, Ricky Barnum), Pace won’t be needed in 2010.

2010 Countdown: #74 Jeremy Jackson

Name: Jeremy Jackson
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 196 lbs.
High school: Huron High School in Ann Arbor, MI
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #17
Prediction for 2010: Redshirt

I struggled with where to put Jackson on the list. There’s no question in my mind that at least one of the freshman receivers will play this season (Jackson, Ricardo Miller, or Jerald Robinson), perhaps more. Darryl Stonum and Junior Hemingway are the likely starters, but there’s not much after that.

But I’ve never been a fan of Jackson’s playmaking ability. As the son of running backs coach Fred Jackson, he’s probably learning the offense quickly and is technically sound. He’s tall and can probably grab some jump balls. But golly gee, he looks super slow in every video I’ve ever seen of him – game film, spring practice video, etc. Not only might that be a problem for getting downfield, but I even doubt whether he can be an effective blocker at this point. I feel like Big Ten cornerbacks would just dance around him to make a tackle. So out of the three freshman wideouts, I think Jackson is the least likely to play this season.

2010 Recruiting Grades: Wide Receiver

Jerald Robinson. #4. The red, white, and silver #4. Uhhh…the guy catching the ball. Yeah, him.

The Wolverines picked up three wide receivers in the class of 2010 (slot receivers will be a separate category). At one point in the process, Michigan had six commitments from guys who were recruited to play either wide receiver or slot, so Rich Rodriguez obviously thought the team was lacking at the position. This despite the fact that Michigan only lost Greg Mathews and Laterryal Savoy in 2009, and they shouldn’t lose anyone in 2010.

The first commitment came from Ricardo Miller, a 6’2″, 208 lb. wideout from Dr. Phillips in Orlando, FL. So intent to play at Michigan, he and his family moved to Ann Arbor to attend Pioneer High School. Miller was considered by many Michigan fans to be at least a 4-star prospect, with the chance to be a 5-star. Unfortunately, many of them hadn’t seen him play at that point. Miller is a big receiver with a magnetic personality; he was even credited by Rodriguez as an ace recruiter. What he lacks is elite speed. He might even lack above average speed.

A couple days later, running backs coach Fred Jackson’s son, Jeremy Jackson, announced his commitment to Michigan. Jackson stands 6’3″ and 194 and attended Huron High School in Ann Arbor. In a slightly alarming trend, Jackson also lacks great speed, perhaps even more so than Miller. In fact, both Miller and Jackson are so big and so . . . not fast that there has been much discussion that they could move to tight end.

Jerald Robinson, from Canton South in Ohio, waited until February 2010 to commit. He’s a 6’2″, 175 lb. receiver, although when I first evaluated him, I really thought he would be a candidate to play safety in college. He’s not exactly a blazer, although he’s faster than Miller and Jackson. Like Jackson, though, he’s decent at going into traffic.

Projections: At this point, I think all three of these players will stick at wide receiver – no tight end for Jackson or Miller, and no safety for Robinson. That being said, I do not think any of the three will be assuming the crown of Michigan’s Next Great Receiver. At least one will almost surely play in the fall, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see two of them on the field; Rodriguez isn’t shy about burning redshirts, for the most part. Robinson is the most likely to be an impact player in the passing game. He possesses the best speed and big play ability. The other two will have to prove their worth early on by blocking in the running game.

Grade: C. I’m not a big fan of this class of receivers. All three players have good qualities, but they also lack elite physical talent. In an offense that revolves around getting its players in space, Rodriguez took several early commitments from guys who might struggle to get open. And if they do get open, they might not be able to do much with the ball. Laterryal Savoy earned a starting job in 2008 by being the best blocking receiver on the team, but it’s somewhat disturbing to think that perhaps the best thing that comes out of this class is . . . a couple Laterryal Savoys.

Shawn Conway, Wolverine

Shawn Conway’s best asset

Wide receiver Shawn Conway, from Seaholm High School in Birmingham, MI, committed to the Wolverines on Saturday. He visited for Michigan’s Junior Day without any offers, but left the event as a commit. The internets are angry. To the internets I say . . . shush.

Conway was definitely under the radar. Michigan discovered him at the 7-on-7 camp in Ann Arbor last summer. He had sat out his sophomore year after transferring from Cass Tech in Detroit, and during his junior year, had as a quarterback the kid you see in the video below. (I don’t want to bag on a sophomore quarterback who was supposed to be a backup going into the year, but not many sophomores are great quarterbacks, so it’s nothing about which to be ashamed.) Rich Rodriguez definitely was not cowed by the internet reactions to commits from kids like DJ Williamson, Antonio Kinard, Ray Vinopal, and Carvin Johnson last year. Williamson and Kinard didn’t have any other FBS offers at the time of their commitments, either. Fans were angry. If you didn’t believe it before, believe it now – Rodriguez doesn’t care about message boards.

As for Conway’s talents, make no mistake – he has significant physical skills. According to an interview with TomVH from MGoBlog, Conway claims to be 6’4″, have run a 4.49 forty, and have a 38″ vertical jump. While I always assume that measurables are fudged a bit by players and recruiting services, I would not be surprised if he’s actually 6’3″ with a 37″ vertical and a forty in the 4.6 range. This kid is the real deal.

I am not inclined to question Rodriguez’s decision to offer Conway. The highlight video below shows a kid who made highlight-reel catch after highlight-reel catch despite the fact that he only had 11 total receptions in 2009, according to a poster on MGoBlog (EDIT: Rivals reports that Conway had 76 catches for nearly 900 yards and 10 touchdowns, plus another 500 yards on punt and kick returns). His speed has been questioned, but he’s close to 6’4″. How many 6’4″ receivers have truly elite speed? He’s fast enough to threaten defensive backs, and his height and leaping ability make him a deep threat, regardless of his speed. Furthermore, some of his highlights are against teams like Farmington Hills Harrison (Drew Stanton, Agim Shabaj) and Detroit Country Day (Jonas Gray, Kenny Demens), schools that possess significant athletic talent.

I have also seen suggestions that Conway will become a cornerback or tight end. I am quite confident that neither will happen. First of all, he looks too stiff to play cornerback, and even if he’s not quite 6’4″, he’s probably too tall – there aren’t many guys like Lenny Walls out there. Second, he’s too slight to play tight end; he would have to bulk up way too much. This guy is a receiver.

In a way, Conway reminds me of Marquise Walker. Walker was unlike Conway in that he was a highly touted recruit (although, for all we know, Conway could blow up in the recruiting world), but he was tall, had great hands, and wasn’t blazingly fast. I see some of these same qualities in Michigan’s newest commit. I also think that any Michigan fans who criticize Conway’s offer but look favorably on Jeremy Jackson should rethink their positions. Jackson has good size and hands as well, but he’s slower than Conway. Conway has 4-star talent but probably won’t be a 4-star to the recruiting services unless his quarterback talent improves.

Welcome to Michigan, Shawn.