Missouri Tigers' Jerrell Jackson Beginning to Emerge From the Shadows

You'll have to excuse Jerrell Jackson for being a bit of a late-bloomer.

After all, it's taken him nearly 18 months to morph from one of the country's lightest recruited wideout prospects into Missouri's most potent emerging receiving threat.

And it's not as if Jackson's journey is well-documented with drama, personal anguish, or a mess of tribulations worthy of a made-for-TV movie or tell-all book. But it is nonetheless intriguing.

When Jackson arrived on campus at Missouri prior to the 2008 season, he needed only take a glance at the Tigers' two-deep rotation at wide receiver to realize the monumental task that awaited him his freshman season.

Jeremy Maclin. Chase Coffman. Tommy Saunders. The noteworthy names ahead of him were many, so it goes without saying that Jackson instantly got lost in the wash. Missouri's corps of wide receivers was a sea of talent and Jackson was drowning in it.

But his challenges extended beyond cracking MU's roster.

Upon beginning his first season in BCS-caliber football, the 6-1 Jackson looked every bit of his listed weight of 170 pounds. He needed to add bulk, but he also needed to adjust to the intricacies and subtle nuances of the spread offense, which can be a dizzying experience for a young receiver.

The odds seemed stacked against a player that wasn't exactly counting his blue chips or five-star ratings out of high school. 

A gangly ball of athleticism, Jackson garnered little attention during his recruiting process , receiving offers from only TCU among Texas' gaggle of high-profile programs. He also drew interest from Oklahoma State and Arkansas, but for the most part, it seemed as if no one wanted the former three-sport athlete from Houston.

Fortunately for Jackson, Missouri saw something all the others missed .

"We don't ever look at how many stars somebody has by their name," MU head coach Gary Pinkel said last season of Jackson, who earned all-district honors in football, basketball and track at Jefferson Davis High School. "And we also recruit a lot on athleticism. We feel we can teach him how to be a good football player."

But due to circumstances beyond his control, Jackson didn't get much of chance to justify the decision of Pinkel and his staff.

Buried under loads of experienced talent on the depth chart, Jackson was a prime candidate for a redshirt season. However, he impressed enough during preseason practices to earn playing time in all 14 games as a true freshman, often entering the game when the Tigers were afforded the luxury of pulling their stars in a blowout. 

In all, Jackson finished 2008 with nine receptions for 98 yards, though a majority of that production came via a six-catch, 70-yard performance against Southeast Missouri State in a 52-3 MU win.

Fast forward to 2009, a season in which a Missouri team in transition would presumably lean heavily upon its receivers to compensate for a new quarterback and a retooled defense. And despite his meager production the prior season, that group included Jackson, a player the MU coaching staff held in high regard.

Yet, one season did not a difference make. And it seemed that many of the obstacles that prevented Jackson from making an impact as a freshman were now impeding his progress as a sophomore. 

Jackson has spent most of this season listed second on the MU depth chart, but it's been a mixture of the heroics of those around him and his own inconsistencies, not his role as a backup, that has had coaches and fans alike pleading for a breakthrough performance.

Through the first nine games of this season, Jackson registered only 18 receptions for 184 yards and one touchdown. In fact, on eight separate occasions, he caught three or fewer passes. Add to that the exploits of Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year candidate Danario Alexander and fellow senior Jared Perry , and it's easy to see why frustration would mount as Jackson once again got lost in the shuffle.

“He’s kind of had spurts in games where we’ve seen what he’s capable of doing,” Jackson's offensive coordinator, David Yost, said. “But there’s been times where he’s kind of disappeared.”

That is until one man's tragedy became another's opportunity for triumph.

Though perhaps regrettably, Jackson would acknowledge that the complexion of his season was altered dramatically when Perry suffered a season-ending leg fracture Nov. 14 at Kansas State. Thrust into the starting lineup, Jackson wasted no time flashing his promise, finishing MU's win with six catches and 78 yards, both career-highs. He also rushed for a personal-best 24 yards on three carries.

But his onlookers wanted more, so much so that Pinkel made it a point to approach Jackson after his breakout game in an attempt to coax some consistency from his budding receiver.

“I grabbed him and said, ‘You played a heck of a game. But you know what? You can be better,’ ” Pinkel said. “Because he can be better. He’s a young guy that can really, really do a lot of good things.”

Consider the message received.

Starting a game for the fifth time this season, Jackson put his newfound abundance of playing time to good use, setting a new pair of career-highs with eight catches and 142 yards in Missouri's 34-24 win over Iowa State on Saturday.

Even Alexander, who set an MU single-season record for receiving yards with 173 of his own against the Cyclones, was impressed.

“We knew we needed a guy to step up because Perry went down, and he stepped up big-time today,” said Alexander, who is third in the nation with 1,411 receiving yards.

And Jackson didn't just put up empty stats on Saturday. In scoring the second touchdown of his career, he caught a Blaine Gabbert pass and streaked down the sideline 70 yards to tie the game at 17 early in the third quarter and give the Tigers a timely boost.

For the season, Jackson now has 32 receptions for 404 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, though, he is beginning to fulfill the expectations the Tigers had for him the second they nabbed him out of high school.

“As he continues to mature, you can see how good he’s going to be,” Pinkel said after the win against Iowa State.

Jackson's moment in the sun may not be now, but it's rapidly approaching. Soon the players he now emulates will be gone and he'll be counted upon to build upon his recent surge to become the next great receiver at Missouri.

Not that he minds. He's paid his dues and put in his time while learning from the best, although it seems like yesterday he was that lonely recruit looking for a home.

“They really expect big things out of me,” said Jackson, who will headline a Missouri receiving corps virtually void of seniors in 2010. “Just them telling me that, I know that they’re going to be looking forward to me making big plays like Danario has been doing this year and like Jeremy Maclin was doing last year.

"It makes me think that next year’s going to be my time.”

Photo credit: Parker Eshelman/Columbia Daily Tribune