ANN ARBOR — In late February, Michigan sophomore wide receiver Giles Jackson was visiting his brother in Las Vegas when his phone buzzed with an alert.
News broke that college players would now be allowed to wear the No. 0 for the first time, and Jackson knew immediately he would want to change his jersey from No. 15.
“As soon as I saw it, I was like I definitely have to ask coach for this,” Jackson told The Blade in a phone interview. “I just wasn't a fan of [No. 15]. I just knew if I wore No. 0, nobody's ever worn that before, so I could be starting my own thing.”
Jackson’s new number might amount to nothing, but his play on the field doesn’t.
As a true freshman, he arrived in Ann Arbor as a former running back ready to make the move to receiver. He quickly made a name for himself on special teams, but when it came to offensive reps, he began the year on the scout team.
By Week 4, as Michigan was prepping for Wisconsin, offensive coordinator and receivers coach Josh Gattis told The Blade he wasn’t sure that Jackson would make a big enough jump to get any meaningful reps at receiver during the 2019 season.
“Giles went from the outhouse to the penthouse in my book throughout the year,” he said. “About four weeks into the season and he was still on scout team and I was like, ‘This guy will never play for us this year.’ I was coaching him very hard. But then finally it hit for him and you really saw his ability take over. And then by the end of the year, it was, ‘How many ways can I figure out how to get this guy the ball?’”
One of Jackson’s biggest strengths has been his versatility, and for Gattis, it’s all about figuring out how best to get the California native touches.
As a true freshman, Jackson had 69 rushing yards on 10 attempts, 142 receiving yards on nine catches, and 622 kick return yards on 24 attempts.
He pulled off a rarity — especially for a true freshman — scoring one receiving touchdown (Rutgers), one kick return touchdown (Maryland), and one rushing touchdown (Ohio State). That last score made him one of the youngest-known Michigan players to score a touchdown against the Buckeyes, as he was just 17 years old through the 2019 regular season.
The jet-sweep play that led to a 22-yard score against the Buckeyes maybe served as the best example of the kind of versatility he brings.
“I just remember that whole week just watching their defense, I was watching every time we ran that sweep, nobody would be on the other side,” Jackson said. “And I knew as soon as I got the ball, I could just use my speed as an advantage and get to the end zone.”
While Jackson improved throughout the season, whenever Michigan’s next game is, the biggest goal will be for him to make another leap.
Even on special teams where he thrived, Jackson said he’s now been taking punt return reps in practice and hopes to do so in games along with kick returning. Special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh said earlier this offseason that they are expecting a “huge year” from Jackson.
“For kickoff returns, we love Giles back there,” Harbaugh said. “I think everybody does. He's crazy fast, super talented, and he even left some yards out there last year that I think this year he's going to be able to take advantage of and will be able to continue to improve with the way that he understands our system.”
As a receiver, one area that Jackson and Gattis both said that the former has greatly improved is his stance.
While the sophomore has been lauded for his speed, Gattis said that Jackson’s first two to three steps last season didn’t have the same kind of explosiveness that he had through the rest of his route.
“He's fully bought in to being a complete receiver now and it's been quite pleasant just to see his growth at that position and not just be a ball-in-hand player, but be a full-time wideout,” Gattis said.
Jackson added that even between the end of last season and now he has already noticed a huge difference at the beginning of his routes. He joked that watching film with Gattis recently, he realized how “terrible” his stance was last year.
Now, he continues to focus on the details, especially without any games looming. Since Aug. 11 when the Big Ten postponed the season, the Wolverines have continued to practice in accordance with NCAA rules.
“I would have preferred we play now but this time off is actually getting me better,” Jackson said. “I wish we were playing, but I'm also glad that we have more time just so I can focus on me as a player, a receiver, and just get better.”
Over the last year-plus, it has also helped that Jackson has gotten to learn from the other receivers in his class, Mike Sainristil and Cornelius Johnson.
The three are a tight-knit group, and all got meaningful reps at receiver last season.
“Those two guys alone have been such a great influence on him because they are technicians,” Gattis said. “Mikey Sainristil and Cornelius Johnson, I couldn't be more excited about having those three guys in a class.”
That experience from last year could prove vital given the shakeups in the receiver room.
Two of Michigan’s top four receivers from last year are gone after Donovan Peoples-Jones left early for the NFL and Tarik Black transferred to Texas.
Now entering their second year, Jackson said he feels they are “absolutely” ready to take on more of a role in the offense.
“Me, CJ, and Mikey, we always joke around like how bad we used to be when we first got here,” Jackson said. “And just working with coach Gattis every day and just watching the film and focusing on the little stuff, we've all got extremely better. We're all super confident playing. We're not asking questions like ‘What do we have to do?’ We know what we have to do now. So, it's a lot easier.”
First Published September 12, 2020, 2:13 p.m.
