Wolverine Digest

Giles Jackson Needs To Be Michigan's Version Of Tyreek Hill

Giles Jackson could and should have a breakout year as a sophomore.

Brandon Brown

Giles Jackson Needs To Be Michigan's Version Of Tyreek Hill
Giles Jackson Needs To Be Michigan's Version Of Tyreek Hill /

Giles Jackson is a weapon. 

That's not necessarily a new concept after we watched him score a touchdown via reception, carry and kick return during his freshman season last year, but he had just nine catches over the course of 13 games. That number is expected to go way up with the departures of Tarik Black, Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones, but how exactly will Jackson be used?

He needs to be used like Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs. Even though Jackson doesn't have Hill's level of speed, he's plenty fast, especially in college. We saw that first hand against Maryland when he took the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown and when he erased an angle against the extremely fast Ohio State defense in Ann Arbor last year.

Hill is listed at 5-10, 185 pounds, while Jackson checks in at 5-9, 188 pounds. Not only are they listed similarly in terms of height and weight, they actually have very similar builds as well. They're obviously short, but they're built low to the ground and compactly, more like running backs. Jackson played a lot of running back in high school and we see Hill line up in the backfield often for KC. Utilizing Jackson in the same way could and should produce a lot of exciting plays for the Wolverines.

Just last night, I saw a play in the Kansas City game that immediately made me think of Jackson in the winged helmet.

First of all, this play is amazing by design. I'm going to breakdown the play with Michigan's players in place of the Chiefs. 

As the play starts, you can see all 11 offensive players. Patrick Mahomes (Joe Milton) is in the pistol. This allows for the Z wide receiver, Demarcus Robinson (Ronnie Bell), to cross in front of him with jet motion, except for he doesn't get the ball, instead he continues on to become a lead blocker.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Chris Evans) is lined up directly behind the quarterback and sprints out left as if he's going to be part of a speed option with the QB. 

Travis Kelce (Nick Eubanks) is lined up on the right site of the formation but in a stand up stance and about two yards off the end of the line. His job is simply to block anyone who comes across his face.

Sammy Watkins (Cornelius Johnson) is the X receiver on the left side of the line 6-8 yards wide of the tackle. He does some sort of combination between stalk blocking and running a short route, but his role is pretty minimal on this particular play. Put a hat on someone and call it a day as the action occurs on the opposite side of the field.

The left tackle (Ryan Hayes), center (Andrew Vastardis or Zach Carpenter), right guard (Andrew Stueber) and right tackle (Jalen Mayfield) all block left to sell the speed option. Meanwhile, the left guard (Chuck Filiaga or Trevor Keegan) pulls to the right to become the second lead blocker along with the Z receiver who first passed with jet motion. Hill (Jackson) lined up in the slot just off Watkins' right hip. At the snap, he trails in behind Robinson and the left guard and takes the little push pass from Mahomes. 

This puts the speedy, elusive and shifty Hill on the edge, at full speed to the wide side of the field with a left guard and wide receiver out in front as lead blockers. The defense is already thin on that side of the field since there weren't really any threats lined up there to begin with. 

Scheme, Hill's speed and two versatile and different lead blockers allow The Cheetah to dive into the end zone without really having to make much of a move. Jackson could and should be able to do the same thing with even more room on a college field and less speed on defense than the Patriots obviously have.

Michigan has an army of analysts. I'm not sure exactly what they do on a day to day basis, but if I were the head coach, I'd assign a team of three or four of them to comb through game film, from both the NFL and college, after each weekend and bookmark plays just like this. I'd especially focus on guys that are similar to players on Michigan's roster.

I'd watch the Chiefs for Hill and Jackson. I'd watch the Saints to see if I could use Chris Evans like Alvin Kamara. I'd watch the Bills to see how they're using quarterback Josh Allen, especially in the quarterback run game. I'd watch the Rams and Robert Woods to see how Ronnie Bell could be utilized. You can go right down Michigan's roster and find several comparable players in the league and around the country to find ways to use them.

I'm not sure I'm an expert, but I know good football when I see it, especially when it's because of scheme and play design and I'd be stealing from other good play callers on a weekly basis. I'd love to see Michigan do that with Jackson in the form of Tyreek Hill in particular.

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Brandon Brown
BRANDON BROWN

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