NFL Network analyst: UM Canes lineman is ‘a bully,’ but maybe not the one you think
He almost always flashes a smile — except when he’s pummeling a quarterback or some other unfortunate player on the opposing team.
But on Monday, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah called 6-5, 265-pound University of Miami defensive end Joe Jackson “a bully,’’ noting “I mean that in the nicest way possible.’’
Jackson, who left UM after his junior year to declare for the NFL Draft, will be among six Hurricanes at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine, which runs Tuesday through next Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Some draft analysts have the gritty, sometimes scary on-field presence of gifted UM defensive tackle Gerald Willis going in the late first round or early second. But Jeremiah, when asked by the Miami Herald during a national teleconference to assess the combine-bound Hurricanes, chose to speak about edge rusher Jackson, safeties Jaquan Johnson and Sheldrick Redwine and cornerback Michael Jackson.
Jeremiah didn’t have any Hurricanes listed in his “top 50 prospects for the 2019 NFL Draft” that he updated on Monday.
“When you look at the pass rusher, to me he’s just a big, strong power rusher,’’ Jeremiah said of Joe Jackson. “I have him kind of in that third-round range. He’s got tremendous power. He’s got a nifty, little dip move coming off the edge — flashes some speed. I wrote down, ‘He’s a bully,’ and I mean that in the nicest way possible. But he’s got to win early. He doesn’t really have a second move once he gets engaged. It’s going to be all power from that standpoint.
“So, just kind of developing a counter move will be big for him.”
Jackson is from Homestead and graduated from Miami Gulliver Prep. He had an outstanding 2018 season, starting 12 of 13 games and finishing with a team-high nine sacks. He added 14 1/2 tackles for loss, 47 total tackles, three pass breakups, a team-high nine quarterback hurries and a 42-yard interception that he returned for his second career touchdown.
Jeremiah is especially intrigued with former UM safeties Jaquan Johnson and Sheldrick Redwine, close friends who both graduated from Miami Killian High. Johnson led the Canes this past season with 92 tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick. Redwine had 64 tackles, 3 1/2 tackles for loss, three sacks, three picks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Said Jeremiah: “This is a question that comes up all the time: ‘How would you sort those guys out?’
“Johnson is fun to watch. Playing in the middle of the field he has got tremendous burst. There’s no hesitation, no fear. For a guy that’s 186 pounds, he’ll throw his weight, throw his body into people. It seems when you watch him on tape you can see him really directing traffic. He seems like kind of the leader back there, getting everybody where they need to be.
“And then Redwine, a little more prototypical in terms of a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger. He’s a real physical, sure tackler — excellent blitzer. You see him in the middle of the field some as well as over the slot. I wanted to see those guys in person to see how they would kind of separate themselves watching them move around. But as of right now they’re right together. Third, fourth round, is where I have their grades.”
Jeremiah also mentioned cornerback Jackson, who had 42 tackles ( 3 1/2 for losses) and 2 1/2 sacks. He added six pass breakups.
“He’s a physical kid but there are some issues there, I thought,’’ Jeremiah said. “Especially against the run, he got stuck on some blocks. He’s a solid player. I had him more in that fifth, sixth-round range.”
The NFL Draft is April 25-27 in Nashville, but the scouting combine gets going Tuesday, with running backs scheduled to perform on field Friday, defensive linemen on Sunday and defensive backs on Monday.
UM also will be represented by tailback Travis Homer.
