Miami Hurricanes DE Jon Garvin goes to Green Bay Packers in final round of NFL Draft
In 2018, while opposing players were trying to stop dominant Miami Hurricanes junior defensive end Joe Jackson, sophomore rush end Jonathan Garvin was padding his future resumé with an eventual career-best 60 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 5 1/2 sacks, two fumble recoveries, five pass breakups — and even the rare treat of a touchdown on a fumble return — in 13 starts.
Then came 2019, and the emergence of redshirt freshman defensive end Gregory Rousseau. Actually, “emergence’’ might be the understatement of the year, as Rousseau had one of the best seasons in the nation while Garvin was initially double-teamed and his numbers declined.
On Saturday, Garvin, one of four University of Miami underclassmen to leave early and declare for the NFL Draft, was drafted by the Green Bay Packers when they chose him in the seventh and final round — the 242nd pick overall— in the draft. He became the fourth Hurricane to be chosen in this year’s draft.
The others: linebacker Shaq Quarterman (Jacksonville Jaguars), running back DeeJay Dallas (Seattle Seahawks) and receiver K.J. Osborn (Minnesota Vikings).
Skipped bowl
Garvin retained an agent and therefore was prohibited from playing in UM’s Independence Bowl, ended the 2019 season with 37 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks, four quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. In the regular-season finale at Duke, his final game, Garvin had a game-high 10 tackles, two sacks, 3 1/2 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Pro Football Focus reported that Garvin “pressured quarterbacks on 14.8 percent of pass rushes in 2019,” the fifth best percentage in the Atlantic Coast Conference (minimum of 200 pass rushes).
“With them bringing everything to me,’’ Garvin explained early in the season of Jackson’s departure causing opponents to concentrate on him, “you get double, triple, sometimes as many as four guys on me. So, all you gotta do is keep fighting and keeping going.
“It’s frustrating and prideful. I would feel disrespected if they didn’t...’’
Spider man
Garvin graduated from Lake Worth High School as a four-star prospect who as a senior had a school-record 18 sacks and 97 tackles, including 59 for losses. Teammates and coaches call him “Neo,’’ his middle name. Early on in his UM career, he said his teammates called him “Spider.’’
“It’s something they came up with when I first came here because of the way I bend around the corner and can crawl on my hands and pick myself up,’’ he said. “[I’m] just able to maintain great balance.’’
Garvin was one of eight UM players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in late February, and like some of his Canes teammates, he did well there. He was asked to participate in combine linebacker drills, as his skills might be used as an outside, rush linebacker at the next level.
No. 1 in vertical
Garvin’s vertical leap was 36 inches, No. 1 among 32 edge rushers and defensive linemen who participated in that event.
He measured in at 6-4 and 263 pounds and ran the eighth fastest time of 4.82 seconds (tied with defensive tackle Carlos Davis of Nebraska) of 38 players listed as defensive linemen and edge rushers who ran the 40-yard dash at the combine.
“Good start, good finish. Pretty good run right there,’’ NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah said of Garvin.
Garvin did 23 reps in the bench press (tied with four other players for 10th most of 38 DL/edge rushers), and broad jumped 125 inches (sixth best, tied with Alex Highsmith of Charlotte).
Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller had Garvin as his “biggest sleeper” among edge rushers in the draft, listing him as the 16th best edge rusher.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 6:51 PM.
