Jackson's 97-Yard TD Proof of What Wolverines' Trust, Confidence Can Produce
11/3/2019 1:17:00 PM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Giles Jackson went coast-to-coast on the first play of the game, going 97 yards to score on the opening kickoff. And that seemed only fitting for the University of Michigan freshman from California playing in his first game out East.
Jackson caught the ball at the 3-yard line, and had Devin Gil fend off a would-be tackler to his right. Ben Mason walled off another defender to the left, and he had the crease to hit. Jackson exploded through it, juked Maryland kicker Joseph Petrino and then raced 60 yards alone down the right sideline to the end zone.
"We'd been working on it all week," said Jackson, whose previous long kickoff return was 34 yards. "We knew we needed a big play to start the game off, and I (said), as soon as he kicked it, 'I'm taking it.' And that's exactly what we did, and it had a good momentum to it. I just kept going.
"Devin Gil made that huge block and I saw him hit the dude, and I just tried to outrun them to the end zone."
And so the 5-foot-9, 188-pound, 17-year-old freshman provided just what the Wolverines needed coming off that decisive win at home against Notre Dame last week. Michigan players followed through on Coach Jim Harbaugh's command to take it to their next opponent, even if the Terrapins were underdogs.
Harbaugh said after Saturday's (Nov. 2) 38-7 win over Maryland: "I think you worry, you come off a big win like we had the week before, 'What's the mindset going to be like?' And it was to put the pedal down, to put the foot on the gas. So I admire that the most, the way they're playing. It's been game after game, just playing with great effort."
Jackson picked up on the 0-to-60 mentality: "We didn't want to start slow. We needed to start fast on the gas and keep going, and that's what we did. ... We wanted to give a punch in the mouth."
He added a boxing analogy to the sprint car one. But, hey, that's allowed if you take a kickoff the distance.
I asked Jackson what enabled Michigan to get that quick start, going up 14-0 in just over 10 minutes of play?
"We just prepare for it every day," Jackson said. "We go through meetings, and just pay attention and listen."
The Wolverines are finding that big plays happen when attention to the smallest details and a drive for perfection are realized daily in practices, and that has Harbaugh smiling quite a bit these days.
"Devin Gil had a heck of a block on that kickoff return," said Harbaugh, "and Giles Jackson, his confidence is really high right now, and he just hit it. That's the first kickoff return (to begin a game) we've had that I can remember since Jehu Chesson did it against Northwestern in 2015. That's a great way to start a game. Talk about starting fast, you can't start it any faster than returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
"It was really well-blocked. Jay Harbaugh and Chris Partridge, they do a phenomenal job on special teams and they've been working at it, and it's good to see one hit. Almost had another one, too. Again, it's just playing with great effort at all times. They are believing in themselves, they have confidence in themselves that they're going to make the play, and they have confidence in each other. That's the thing I see. That confidence and that trust in each other is probably our greatest strength right now."
Jackson said his long-distance return "was working all week in practice" and he was itching to have that blocking and his speed spring a big one against Maryland. He said he knew he was gone after Gil's block.
The play was a perfect example of the mutual "trust" that Harbaugh noted.
True freshmen such as nickel back Daxton Hill, tight end Erick All, receivers Jackson, Mike Sainristil and Cornelius Johnson and defensive tackle Christopher Hinton are getting more and more playing time as they earn trust. They're joining tailback Zach Charbonnet -- whose two scoring runs against the Terps set the Michigan freshman rushing touchdown record by giving him 11 -- as fresh faces adding to the depth with the common trait of outstanding speed.
Jackson had one great season as a running back and another as a receiver at Freedom High in Oakley, California. His home in Antioch -- located midway between Oakland and Stockton -- is nearby.
He carried 221 times for 1,586 yards (7.2 yards per carry) and 22 touchdowns as a junior, and then caught 63 passes for 1,254 yards (19.9 yards per catch) and 13 touchdowns as a senior.
The four-star recruit brings many skills, but needed to get up to speed on the details required to put it all into use.
"It was hard to get used to all the playbooks," said Jackson. "Kind of frustrating, but I got used to it."
He had to study offensive coordinator Josh Gattis' spread offense as well as the intricacies of the return game. It's a lot to digest. But while running from the far corner of the end zone back to the Michigan sideline after his energizing touchdown, Jackson got to reap the rewards of assignment competence as well as the joy that comes with a sensational play.
"It was crazy because everyone was giving me high-fives," said Jackson. "They were telling me, 'Congratulations.' And it just absolutely felt great."
Did anybody's words during the celebration stand out?
Jackson, with a widening smile, said, "Coach Gattis said, 'I love you, man.' I told him, 'You, too,' and we just kept going."
That comment provides a glimpse of what's going on with these Wolverines. When positive performances are met by positive reinforcement, relationships grow and teams bond.
Jackson added a 24-yard return that, as Harbaugh noted, he came close to breaking for much more: "I broke the first tackle and I got a guy lost. But ..."
He was going to have to settle for one magical return against the Terrapins.
Jackson's other touchdown was a 23-yard reception on a pass from Joe Milton against Rutgers. He said he read the defense wrong and wasn't as "excited about that one," but added, "This one felt great."
Michigan got its spark from special teams, and then the defense and offense followed suit with quality performances.
Jackson said of the overall team: "We're just taking every day slowly and working. We fix minor errors and are just going to build from it."
Spectacular plays can result from that, and Giles Jackson is proof.
