This Sentell’s Intel rep advances the story of the latest Georgia football transfer portal addition. That’s 3-star transfer Michael Jackson III from USC. The Las Vegas native silently committed to UGA after his official visit in early December and announced his decision on January 4, 2024.
Michael Jackson III committed to Georgia this week. Go ahead. Have fun with it.
If the thought has not crossed one’s mind already, go ahead and make a “He He” as you read that first part again.
Jackson embraces it. He realizes that his grandfather Michael Jackson had that name before little Michael started entertaining the world with the “Jackson 5″ approximately 50 years ago.
He prefers “Michael Jackson III” with it. He goes by his normal full name. That’s what the public address announcer at the Los Angeles Coliseum would say when he made a play for the Trojans for the last three years.
“It is usually whatever people want to call me,” he said. “I’m not defensive of the jokes and stuff. It has kind of been like that my whole life. I am kind of used to all of that.”
His family calls him “Tre” because he’s the third.
“But to everybody else, it is either Mike Jack or Michael or Michael Jackson,” he said. “It kind of varies.”
He’s even thought about what he can do with it.
When he scored this season against Nevada, he did break out a little something. It wasn’t the moonwalk, but it was that leg whip that Jackson used in the “Billie Jean” video.
“I did a little high kick thing,” he said. “It was cool. ... It was pretty good. I’d never practiced it or anything. It was something my teammates had always told me and pushed me to do. So I was like ‘When I score I am going to do it’ and there will probably be a lot more of that coming to Georgia.”
Wear normal receiver gloves? Maybe. But then maybe a little bit more.
“I’ve got to play with two gloves,” he said. “I might just have a sparkling one glove and a clean other glove. Then when I score I might take the other glove off.”
It was hard to tell if he was kidding or not. Jackson might have to run that one by Bryan McClendon and Kirby Smart first. But give me a big helmet sticker there for creativity.
“I’m definitely bringing some of that to Georgia this year,” he said.
Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo told Jackson that he loved his versatility.
“He said I had the speed and I had the separation and I was able to make contested catches,” Michael Jackson III said. “I can be used in the screen game. I can be used in going down the field as well. The biggest thing I bring to the table is my versatility and I would say equal to that is my yards after the catch. Just what I’m able to do when I do get the ball. That was coming from his words. What I got from Coach Bobo is he loved that versatility and he loved what I could do when I do get the ball.”
Jackson never had a drop in a game in his three years at USC. But his stats weren’t gaudy. He handled the punt returns and never muffed a punt. He never turned the ball over or put it on the ground.
His father used the following words to describe his son’s game: Disciplined. Explosive. Serious. Vicious competitively. Twitchy. Strong.
“It is kind of weird, but he’s still growing at 21,” his father Michael Jackson II said. “He measured 6-1 and 210 on his visit at UGA.”
Jackson was about an inch and a half shorter than that last spring at USC. He also weighed 199 pounds. The new Bulldog said he would like to play at around 201 pounds this fall.
He has one season left of eligibility. To further his professional dream of making it to the league, he has to make the 2024 season work. He’s capable of doubling the production of his first three years at USC next fall, if not a lot more than that.
But this move has to work for him. For his future.
Michael Jackson III: Why did he choose UGA?
The answer was pretty simple to the “Jackson 2″ here.
“When I went on a visit coach BMac and coach [Mike] Bobo and coach Kirby [Smart] kind of all sat me down and told me I’m a guy that they want me to come in and play right away,” Michael Jackson III said. “Be one of the top guys. They just see me as a guy just because of my versatility. Just not really ever leaving the field. I can do punt return and I can play X, Z or F. Which is outside or the slot. So they just see me as one of those guys that never have to leave the field and just a continuous weapon.”
“That’s kind of how they sold me and how they develop their players and all that they really put in and invest into their players to get them to their best and get the best out of them. Those were the things that intrigued me the most visiting them and talking to them.”
“That’s really what led to my decision. How they told me they were going to utilize me and their development.”
Jackson said some variant of the role he would be able to earn at UGA was he “would never leave the field” a few times. But he is aware of how that sounds. That pitch wasn’t what sold him on Georgia. He said he came to Georgia for the development and rigorous grind of the program. He needed that.
“Really if I had to just put one thing I would just say just covering all aspects and checking all the boxes I mean it is Georgia,” he said. “Back-to-back national champions. Recently. SEC. The conference that in itself is closest to the NFL, right? And just like I said the way that they said they would utilize me and them saying how they would utilize me and it fits perfectly for my play style and my skill set. I mean that’s all I really needed to hear.”
It was an important visit for the real estate major. He loved UGA for its prestige as the back-to-back national champions, but also because they played in the SEC. The real estate major was also enthused to find out that UGA even ranks higher in its degree program for his major (fourth) than USC (sixth) did.
“We were definitely attracted to the culture at UGA,” his father said. “Serious. Disciplined. Tough and hard-working. That’s a perfect fit for who Michael is. Sitting down with Coach Smart at his home was eye-opening. We love coach Kirby Smart’s transparency.”
Jackson said Smart kept it real with how college football is a business now. There was a lot of talk about a potential role. A lot of talk about everything. That also included the name, image and likeness (NIL) elements.
“It is easy to get misled,” he said. “Coaches tell you what you want to hear but Kirby wasn’t really like that. He told me exactly what was going on. Exactly how they were going to use me. Covered all the NIL stuff. Like everything like that. There was no lying in him. No mask that he had on trying to sell you or to sell me to come here. So obviously I’ve been in college a couple of years so he knows that I know what it is like.”
Jackson said he could see that Smart was “being 100 percent with him and telling me the truth” at that moment.
“I didn’t really get that from my last place,” he said.
Michael Jackson III: Let’s talk about that USC production
Jackson was originally a 3-star recruit (247Sports Composite) coming out in 2021. He played for Desert Pines High in Nevada. (Yes, that was the home of former Georgia TE Darnell Washington and current Georgia assistant running backs coach David Hill.)
He was a 4-star rated as the nation’s No. 59 WR and No. 375 overall prospect back then. He then spent three seasons at USC and two of those were with passing guru Lincoln Riley and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.
He produced these seasons working in the wide receiver rotation and as a kick returner.
| Year | Rec. | Yds | Avg. | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | 116 | 9.7 | 0 | 21 |
| 2022 | 17 | 236 | 13.9 | 4 | 59 |
| 2023 | 17 | 146 | 8.6 | 1 | 16 |
| <b>Career</b> | <b>46</b> | <b>498</b> | <b>10.8</b> | <b>5</b> | <b>59</b> |
He also returned 18 punts for 100 yards with a 17-yard long return. That’s an average of 5.5 yards per return. Georgia’s punt returners averaged 11.2 yards on their 25 returns this season.
That’s an average of about one catch per game during his time at USC.
“I think just seeing that when I did get on the field there I maximized my opportunities,” he said. “I think for the lack of a better term, the politics and stuff like that really hindered me from getting a whole lot of targets I would say. There will also be some type of narrative that injuries played a part in that but that really only happened my sophomore year when I had a lingering hamstring injury. Which is not a big injury at all. But it was something that just kind of lingered.”
Jackson was healthy in the second half of his sophomore season. He produced his best year as a Trojan in that run. His career-best game came with five catches for 115 yards and two scores against Cal.
He was also able to play in 10 of the 12 USC games in 2023.
“It was really just the fact that I wasn’t being targeted and that’s not something necessarily that I really can control,” he said. “I didn’t have any drops. If you really put up the stats or watch the film or however with everything like that you will see I never had drops in my time with Lincoln [Riley] in his era. I really didn’t have any drops my freshman year either which was under Clay Helton.”
“The biggest thing with Georgia is I think they saw that I maximized my opportunities and when I did go in that I made it a dynamic play.”
He wanted to be able to maximize those chances more. He wanted more chances. More opportunities. That’s why he placed his name in the transfer portal.
Jackson didn’t visit any other school after he sought out Georgia first.
“I was kind of sold on Georgia,” he said. “I had committed silently shortly after that visit. It just happened to be that first visit I had. I was talking to a few different other schools but I kind of knew that Georgia was the place that I wanted to go.”
He left the visit on December 11 and recalled he made that silent commitment on December 13.
Jackson said that Hill wasn’t a major player in his recruitment. He said that Hill covers running backs at Georgia and his recruitment was managed by Bobo, McClendon and Smart.
“I was really kind of with them the whole time,” Jackson III said. “That’s who I was in communication with and that’s who the guys at Georgia were that factored in my decision.”
Michael Jackson III shared a message to the Georgia fans
He’s ready to play with Carson Beck. Jackson is very appreciative of what Beck can do.
“Great quarterback,” he said. “Knows how to throw on time. Knows how to really sit in the pocket. Go through his reads. Really read the defense and find the open guy. That’s what I need. I know I’ll get open and for me to be able to trust my quarterback will get it to me on time and be accurate. That’s all I really need. I watched Carson Beck a lot this season. He’s a great fit not just for Georgia but a great fit for me going there as well.”
“I think we will be able to really connect and have some really good chemistry out there on the field.”
Jackson plans to report sometime next week.
He’s ready to get to work. Ready to go through the rigorous grind of being a Georgia Bulldog.
“I know it is very demanding of their players and I feel like I needed that in order to get to the next level,” he said. “You need to be at a program that will not just get the best out of you but also push you and force you to find a best that you maybe didn’t know you even had. To give your best. That’s something I needed for sure.
“I also needed the stage of Georgia. Just the fans in the stands and everything. I’m just ready to connect with the fans, show out for the fans and play for you guys. Just really progress and develop myself all while having fun and being at, what I believe, is the best program in the nation.”
He was asked what the fans should know about what the ‘Dawgs are getting in their latest transfer portal addition. Jackson marks the third wide receiver that the ‘Dawgs have brought into the program during this transfer portal season.
“They are going to get just a dynamic playmaker that can make something happen and make something out of nothing really when I get the ball,” he said. “It is not just five-yard routes and then get tackled. It is a five-yard route and take it to the house. Take slants to the house. Then make contested grabs down the field. Just really getting a versatile player who can cover all aspects of the position. Then that and bringing a little more I don’t know if you want to say West Coast Flash or whatever. I’m going to adhere to the name, too.”
“They will see a little flashes of the Michael Jackson thing and everything like that. I think they are going to see a player that is going to be a whole lot of fun watching honestly.”
His favorite route is the “9″ or “Go” route and that’s something to watch out for.
“Those go routes determine what round you go in,” he said.
Jackson knows that the “King of Pop” wore a red and black jacket when he made that world-famous iconic “Thriller” video
He’s hoping he can create thrills of his own in red and black next season, too.
SENTELL'S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)