Many Happy Returns Didn't Happen with Giles Jackson
Everyone waited and waited this past season for University of Washington kick returner Giles Jackson to burst in the open field, bring Husky Stadium fans to their feet with a loud roar and make a mad dash to the end zone.
It never happened. He didn't come close to going the distance. He never even made halfway down the field.
In yet another indictment of the Jimmy Lake regime, the former UW coach had one of the nation's most dangerous special-teams weapons at his disposal and he failed to take advantage.
In fact, the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Michigan transfer became little more than a decoy over the latter half of the season.
While Jackson turned in 95- and 97-yard kickoff returns for touchdowns for the Wolverines, he went no farther than 43 yards on a runback, doing it on kickoffs against both Oregon and Arizona State.
Lake seemed most pleased following one game when he noted how two defenders actually chased after Jackson when the ball was in someone else's hands.
Note to new UW coach Kalen DeBoer: Hire someone to your staff with the special-teams acumen to get the fastest player on your inherited roster out in the wide-open spaces and across the goal line.
This once was a staple of Husky football with guys like John Ross and Dante Pettis making everyone pay close attention to the return game.
Giles Jackson gathers in a kickoff.
Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports
The Huskies haven't had a kickoff returned for a score since Ross went 92 yards against Rutgers in 2016, a punt turned into points since Aaron Fuller raced 88 yards against BYU in 2019.
There were great plans to use Jackson, a 4.3-second sprinter over 40 yards, in so many ways that would make an opposing team quiver.
Kickoffs. Punts. Jet sweeps. Pass receptions.
Against Montana, the Huskies put the ball in Jackson's hands eight times: four times on receptions, twice on runs and twice on punt returns, totaling 72 yards.
A week later, Jackson had the ball seven times against Michigan, his previous stop, for three rushes, three receptions and a punt return, all for 73 yards.
Then Lake and his staff inexplicably shut off the spigot.
Giles Jackson returns one against WSU.
Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports
Over the final 10 games, Jackson ran the ball just three times, twice against Arizona.
He caught only one more pass against Arkansas State, but none over the final nine outings.
In the final five games, he was a kick returner only.
Against Stanford, he stepped onto the field but he never touched the ball.
Jackson's final stat line: 19 kickoffs for 442 yards (23.3 per kick), 12 punts for 81 yards (6.8), 8 receptions for 87 yards (10.8) and 8 rushes for 49 yards (6.1).
Again, he had a long kickoff return of 43 yards, plus a long punt runback of 21 yards, a long reception of 33 yards (against Michigan) and a long run of 12 yards.
Jackson has two seasons of Husky eligibility remaining. It's time to find a way to connect him to the end zone.
He's not getting any slower, you know.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Husky Maven stories as soon as they’re published.
Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.
Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated
Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven
