Michael Jackson III is a wide receiver who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Purdue.
Jackson moves the chains on third down. The five seasons span three programs and four head coaches: Donte Williams, Lincoln Riley, Kirby Smart and Barry Odom. A game that shows it: 94 receiving yards and 14 receptions against Illinois — Week 6, 2025.
Play style
Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.
Money down · 3rd-down role
Money down
10 of 15 caught on third down (66.7%) — EPA/target 0.74 vs 0.28 elsewhere (8 conversions).
Catch rate is disclosed context only, never the gate — conversions and EPA/target are. Interception targets carry no attribution row at any source, so EPA/target here is unfixably, slightly inflated.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 31-0vs Ball State | 6 | 72 | 12.0 | 1 | 18 | |
| Wk 2 | W 34-17vs Southern Illinois | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 3 | L 17-33vs USC | 7 | 70 | 10.0 | 0 | 31 | |
| Wk 4 | L 30-56@ No. 24 Notre Dame | 4 | 62 | 15.5 | 0 | 20 | |
| Wk 6 | L 27-43vs No. 22 Illinois | 14 | 94 | 6.7 | 0 | 13 | Season-high 94 yds |
| Wk 7 | L 20-27@ Minnesota | 4 | 49 | 12.3 | 0 | 15 | |
| Wk 8 | L 0-19@ Northwestern | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 9 | L 24-27vs Rutgers | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 10 | L 16-21@ No. 21 Michigan | 6 | 58 | 9.7 | 0 | 19 | |
| Wk 11 | L 10-34vs No. 1 Ohio State | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 12 | L 13-49@ Washington | 4 | 33 | 8.3 | 0 | 26 | |
| Wk 14 | L 3-56vs No. 2 Indiana | 6 | 66 | 11.0 | 0 | 21 | |
| Total | 63 | 570 | 9.0 | 1 | 31 |
Week 6 · 2025
L 27-43
vs Illinois
14 rec · 94 yds
With R. Browne — 302 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 60.3 · 22 rush yds (9 car) · 1 TD · J. McCallister — 44.2 yards per punt · 5 punts · 2 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
8022% of team targetsCatch rate
79%63 of 80 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
79% catch rate on 80 targets · 22% of the team's targets.
Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)
Third-down role
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 5.7 | 47.4 | 7.8 | 0.1 |
| Road5g | 4.6 | 47.6 | 10.6 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.0 | 59.0 | 10.6 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 4.5 | 36.0 | 7.3 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Barry Odom
Pass share
52.0%
404 pass / 373 run
Plays / game
64.8
12 games
Team sack rate
3.9%
441 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
63 catches and 3 carries in 12 games, more catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #146 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #20 of 61 Big Ten WRs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The snaps went the other way.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 3 schools: Donte Williams, Lincoln Riley, Kirby Smart and Barry Odom.
