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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When Josh Gattis signed on to be Michigan’s new offensive coordinator back in January, he already had some perfect players to fit his ‘speed in space’ scheme.
While sophomore Ronnie Bell has been the major benefactor this year, it’s the younger crop that embody what he’s looking to do offensively, and perhaps no others look the part like true freshman Giles Jackson.
Jackson hasn’t been heavily featured in the offense just yet, but he’s getting a lot of run on kick return, where he already took one to the house at Maryland two weeks ago. He does have a receiving touchdown, having reeled one in from Joe Milton earlier in the season, late against Rutgers.
In Jackson, Bell sees a player who’s coming into his own, especially given his versatility and varied skill set.
“He fits the offense really kinda anywhere,” Bell said. “Just put him on the field and (let him) make a play. That’s his role in the offense, wherever we need him and he’ll make it happen.”
With that in mind, he can be an absolute terror to cover.
Cornerback LaVert Hill is a seasoned vet at this point, and one of the best defensive backs in the conference, a frequent mention by scouting site Pro Football Focus at disallowing passes to be caught when they’re thrown his way.
Hill says that, even as a first-year player, Jackson is a little more difficult to cover than some of Michigan’s touted wideouts, given his diminutive stature at 5-foot-9, 188-pounds.
“He’s pretty fast, he’s pretty quick,” Hill said. “He’s just little, so you can’t get your hands on him. He’s a pretty good player.
“He’s very quick. He’s faster and more twitchy than (Nico Collins, Tarik Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones). It’s pretty hard (to cover).”
As far as Jackson is concerned, he’s had a lot to work on since arriving in Ann Arbor in June.
But one thing stood out more than others, and it’s something Gattis immediately honed in on.
“Definitely my start to stance – my start to stance was actually terrible when I got here. It was so terrible,” Jackson said. “He fixed that right away. That was the first thing he was doing. Details, that’s all he preaches about: details matter about everything. If you don’t show details on the route, you’re not gonna win the route.”
This year isn’t the year that Jackson will be a key contributor on that side of the ball, with just two games left.
At the moment, he has four receptions for 35 yards and the one receiving touchdown. But he has his eyes on the future, and is working to — as the team has said all year — stack brick-by-brick.
“I just have to keep working hard, keep paying attention, keep taking it day-by-day and I’ll get better,” “We just take it week-by-week.”
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