Michigan running back Giles Jackson (15) catches a pass while warming up before their Big Ten game against Ohio State at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, on Saturday, November 30, 2019. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
Perhaps, just possibly, a former Michigan man is the greatest approach to defeat Michigan for a CFP national championship.
In Monday night’s college football finale, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the astute University of Washington coaching staff found a way to utilise Giles Jackson, the former Wolverine pass-catcher and kick returner. Of course, the Wolverines will be intensely focused on stopping starting wide receivers Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillan.
Surprisingly, Jackson caught a 26-yard touchdown pass to start the game against the Ducks. This was shocking considering the 5-foot-9, 178-pound speedster from Antioch, California, missed the first five games of the season due to a broken thumb.
“The big one is next,” Jackson declared during the Sugar Bowl, referring to his former football team, Michigan. It’s going to be enjoyable. There will be a rematch.”
It’s going to be a reunion in his instance. This Texas title game matchup is amusing because Jackson foresaw it much earlier in the season.
“It’s been fun,” he added, summarising his career, which started at Michigan and the Huskies’ transition to the Big Ten. Without a doubt, I wouldn’t change it. I hope to see those players in the postseason because I adore them.”
Wish fulfilled.
This small At Michigan, Jackson had two seasons filled with highlight-worthy breakaway rushes. Against Maryland and Rutgers, for example, he returned kickoffs 95 and 97 yards for quick touchdowns. He even did it to the bigger boys in college football. As a rookie, he eluded the Ohio State defence and scored a clever 22-yard touchdown on the ground. In the 2020 Citrous Bowl, he recorded 30- and 50-yard kickoff returns against Alabama.
However, the versatile Jackson chose to play for Washington because he saw himself more as a pass-catcher—a perspective that the Wolverines, who saw him more as a specialist, don’t seem to have shared. Three of his 18 Michigan games were starts. His 24 receptions resulted in 301 yards and a touchdown.
Following a six-game pandemic season in 2020, in which his wide receiver minutes and receptions declined, he resurfaced at the University of Washington by enrolling for the summer quarter through the transfer portal. He was originally recruited by the Huskies after graduating from Freedom High School in the Bay Area.
He arrived at Montlake in search of an offence that would better utilise his skills and be more explosive. That requirement wasn’t fully met by Jimmy Lake’s Huskies, but Kalen DeBoer’s potent attack has been the whole thing.
