PISCATAWAY, N.J. – JaQuae Jackson joined the Rutgers football program this offseason because he believed that not only could he play at the next level, but that ultimately he could be in the NFL. And it was the connections that Rutgers had at the NFL level that landed Jackson on the banks.
Jackson has been very strong this year, in what will be his first and final year of Power Five football. His speed and ability to separate have distinguished him on this Rutgers roster.
Second on the team with 331 receiving yards and 20 receptions, Jackson leads all Rutgers wide receivers with 16.5 yards per catch. His step up from the Division II level out of the transfer portal has been impressive.
He chose Rutgers over offers from from Colorado, Georgia Tech, Miami, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M and West Virginia as well as Rutgers. That Rutgers won out is an impressive recruiting victory for the program.
But the main draw for Jackson, besides playing in the Big Ten, was the chance to learn from coaches who have experienced the NFL.
Jackson’s wide receivers coach at Rutgers, Dave Brock, was most recently the wide receivers coach with the Atlanta Falcons and has worked with the likes of Julio Jones and Mohamad Sanu. That type of pedigree is rare in college football.
It isn’t often that a school has a position coach who held that same role in the NFL.
“His NFL experience. He coached top guys in the league, the best players in the league,” Jackson told Rutgers Wire about Brock.
“He just focuses on one little detail to make sure you’re doing everything right. Even if you think you’re doing something right, he’s going to correct it if it isn’t. Just his NFL experience allowed me and him to have conversations throughout the recruiting process. I feel like he was the best coach for what I wanted to do.”
Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano spent two years as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. John Perry, the assistant wide receivers coach, spent seven years with the Houston Texans as their wide receivers coach.
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Along with Brock, that experience says Jackson, is vital to his development.
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There are very few players in the Big Ten with speed and elusiveness. Now that he is playing and performing well at this level, it is hard to believe that Jackson didn’t hold a single FBS offer coming out of high school in Pittsburgh.
For much of high school, he hovered in the range of being 6-foot and 150 pounds. Bigger programs liked his film and his speed. But his size – or lack thereof – scared most away. So Jackson ended up at California University of Pennsylvania, a Division II program.
“I’m just getting to where I want to be,” Jackson said.
“You just got to put in the work. Where I come from, opportunities are very limited and not given to us. So I got to just keep working every day and I don’t take this opportunity for granted because a lot of people that want to be in this position aren’t. I’m just working every day.”
Jackson’s decision to enter the transfer portal wasn’t taken lightly, but he knew that with one year of eligibility left, he needed to make the jump to a higher level of competition. He talked with his family and high school coaches about the risks of entering the transfer portal.
And, most interestingly, he talked with his coaches at California. He said the staff was very supportive and understanding of his need to move on and move up to prove himself.
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He had their full support to enter the transfer portal.
“After last year – I always had the vision of competing at the highest level,” Jackson said.
“I knew the chance I had to take, the risk, to go on to the next level so I could get to Sundays but you know, I’m just excited to be here, and I’m focusing on this here.”
It is with these words that Jackson, seated in a folding chair, points emphatically with his index finger to the floor several times. He is emphasizing this moment for him at Rutgers, the here and now.
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His teammates have seen it as well. Quarterback [autotag]Gavin Wimsatt[/autotag], when asked this week about Jackson, said that his teammate’s work ethic has really stood out.
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Last Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State, Wimsatt and Jackson connected for a third-quarter touchdown.
“He’s a player. It was a great catch by him, a great route as well,” Wimsatt said.
“It’s what he came here for. He has a great story, from DII to the Big Ten. He’s worked so hard this offseason as well into the summer and now he’s making plays.”
Scroll down and check out some images from JaQuae Jackson’s season with Rutgers football!