How JaKobi Jackson's Addition Impacts Florida's Running Back Room

The news of former junior college running back JaKobi Jackson's placement on the Gators' scholarship roster might have come as a surprise to Florida fans when they first heard it.

Not publicly linked to the program previously, Jackson transferred to Florida on Thursday after three seasons at Coahoma Community College and a brief portal commitment to Charleston Southern. He joined the Gators as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining.

But with Jackson in the mix, Florida's running back room now features five scholarship contributors entering the 2023 season, a number head coach Billy Napier suggested as ideal on National Signing Day when Cam Carroll's transfer from Tulane increased the count to four.

"We like to live in that five range there," Napier said on Feb. 1.

The Gators first attempted to meet that quota when the coaching staff hosted former Houston running back Alton McCaskill on an official visit from May 5-7. McCaskill eventually transferred to Colorado, which led Florida to set its sights on Jackson.

Among SEC schools, only LSU (seven) and Georgia (six) are expected to house more scholarship running backs in 2023, although rosters are not yet finalized across the conference and projections could be subject to change. Tennessee's official roster, for example, is currently inactive online and was not observed for this exercise.

Not only is the position deep in UF's circumstance, but it is also talented.

Junior Montrell Johnson Jr. and sophomore Trevor Etienne are both likely to receive votes for the Preseason All-SEC team after combining for 1,560 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2022, while Jackson, Carroll — a rising sixth-year senior, and freshman Treyaun Webb figure to carve out rotational roles offensively and/or special teams responsibilities.

Carroll rushed 312 times for 1,638 yards and 19 touchdowns and caught 23 passes for 247 yards and five touchdowns with the Green Wave; Webb produced 3,488 rushing yards and 47 touchdowns in five varsity seasons at Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Academy.

Of the quintet, Jackson is arguably the biggest wild card. Productive as he may have been in junior college with 1,390 yards and 14 touchdowns across 276 carries, his former competition level makes similar stats tough to project against Division 1 defenses.

But, there is reason to believe Jackson could succeed in the FBS.

A class of 2020 prospect from Pensacola (Fla.) Catholic, Jackson entered his final high school season having garnered offers from Alabama-Birmingham, South Alabama, Western Kentucky and UNC-Charlotte.

He went on to amass 1,127 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing, 450 yards and nine touchdowns receiving, and 40 tackles with three for loss defensively as a senior, earning Class 3A First-Team All-State honors.

The COVID-19 pandemic's arrival in the months before Jackson's graduation reportedly impacted his recruitment, however, as he was unable to finish high school classes, leading to several seasons in what could be considered the developmental ranks of college football.

Time will tell if the three-year development will lead to a fruitful career with the Gators, but Jackson should certainly receive opportunities to prove himself in orange and blue.

Three Florida players surpassed 100 rushing attempts in 2022: Johnson, Etienne and eventual fourth-overall-pick in the NFL Draft, quarterback Anthony Richardson. Additionally, three running backs surpassed 100 rushes in a single season twice during Napier's 2018-21 tenure as Louisiana's head coach, and four players tallied 50+ rushes in a season twice.

Without another record-breaking athlete around to absorb Richardson's run-game utilization — he is likely to be replaced by true pocket passer and Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz — the trio of Jackson, Carroll and Webb will compete for the share of rushes that aren't awarded to Johnson and Etienne in 2023.

And come next offseason, Carroll will have exhausted his collegiate eligibility and Johnson will likely be considered a top running back prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. Meaning, entering his senior campaign, Jackson will then be in a position to compete for a meaningful role in the offense partnered with Etienne.

Of course, Jackson will also lend a hand on special teams as most of Florida's transfers will be expected to do right out of the gate.

Could Florida — freshly removed from a 6-7 (3-5 SEC) season, arguably in need of help at other positions — have benefitted more from pursuing a player at a different spot instead of adding a fifth running back? Quite possibly. The position was already considered UF's strongest, even into the future with class of 2024 commitments from Chauncey Bowens and Kahnen Daniels, and special teams services can be found elsewhere.

But as Napier made clear before his final spring speaking event of the year on Monday, he does not believe Florida's roster is far removed from being in contention with most of its SEC opponents, seemingly countering the idea of additional pressing needs. He is also an adamant believer in his approach to roster building, and Jackson's transfer is in line with his run-heavy offensive philosophy.

As Napier has stated about Florida's other transfer obtainments this offseason, on multiple occasions, Jackson "passed the evaluation" to become a Gator under the head coach's leadership.

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