Pine-Richland’s Jackson unselfish, unstoppable
At first glance, one might wonder why Miguel Jackson’s numbers appeared to drop off a bit from his sophomore to his junior season.
The 6-foot-2, 265-pound defensive end didn’t even play on Pine-Richland’s varsity team as a freshman, but he emerged as a sophomore in 2018 and began terrorizing quarterbacks across the WPIAL, finishing his debut season with 16 sacks. In 2019, that number was cut in half to eight sacks, although he also finished with 56 tackles — including 13 for loss — to go along with three forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries.
According to Rams coach Eric Kasperowicz, the main reason for Jackson’s drop in production — if you can call it that — had to do with him playing both ways on offense and defense for the first time in his career.
“He was very unselfish last year, and we needed him on the O-line,” Kasperowicz said. “Never played it before, and he was one of our best.
“To do what he did and help the team, it’s tremendous. He’s got such a huge ceiling.”
Along with his usual duties at defensive end, Jackson filled in at right guard on Pine-Richland’s offensive line last season, when the Rams finished 10-2 and made their third consecutive trip to Heinz Field for the WPIAL Class 6A championship game. Pine-Richland came up just short in its bid for a three-peat, though, falling on a lastsecond field goal to Central Catholic and its vaunted defensive line, 10-7.
The Vikings had a pair of Power Five recruits lining up across from Jackson in Elliot Donald (Pitt) and A.J. Beatty (North Carolina) — not to mention twins A’meer and A’maar Allen, who will play at Lackawanna College. Kasperowicz, though, said Jackson more than held his own on both sides of the ball, no matter who he matched up against.
“He’s just such a dominant player,” Kasperowicz said. “I’m sure Elliot’s a great player and some of those guys are great players who got him at times, but Miguel won probably more than he lost. He’s just such a competitor.”
While most casual observers view sacks as the main way to grade a defensive end’s performance, Kasperowicz pointed out that there is much more to appreciate about Jackson’s game than simply chasing after quarterbacks.
“I think that would be almost diminishing his talents on the defensive line,” Kasperowicz said. “He’s obviously great getting after the passer, but he’s equally dominant against the run.”
As Jackson has displayed several times over the past two seasons, he’s much quicker and more athletic than most 265-pound linemen in the WPIAL. Jackson actually played running back in eighth grade, and he has shown off his ball-carrying skills more than once while playing defense for the Rams.
“Sophomore year, I blocked a punt, then I returned it for a touchdown,” Jackson said. “Then last year, my teammate blocked a field goal and I picked it up and ran it back for like 60 yards, but I got ran down. Then I had a strip sack and I took it in and scored.”
Given that he has already scored two touchdowns on defense and already holds the school’s career sacks record, what more is there for Jackson to accomplish as a senior? Two things, if you ask him.
“I’m trying to get a pick this year,” Jackson said. “Sophomore year against St. Joe’s, I almost had a pick against [Kyle] McCord. That would have been a good one.”
Along with his first career interception, Jackson also has his sights set on another Rams record.
“I’m hoping for 20-plus sacks,” Jackson said. “Tommy Camino, he has the record right now for 19 in a season. So I’m trying to break that.”
For someone who will most likely move inside to a defensive tackle position at the next level, Jackson’s speed and explosiveness could make him a nightmare matchup for opposing offensive linemen.
Along with his fellow lineman and close friend Harrison Hayes, who committed in April, Jackson gave his verbal commitment in July to play at Liberty University, an independent Football Bowl Subdivision program located in Lynchburg, Va. The Flames won their first bowl game in program history last season in just their second year competing at the FBS level.
Despite the possibility of receiving more interest and perhaps some Power
Five scholarship offers during his senior season, Jackson decided to get his college decision out of the way so he can focus on playing football.
Not only that, Jackson said he hopes to graduate high school early so he can enroll at Liberty for the spring semester. By doing so, he’ll give himself a head start on his academics as well as learning the Flames’ playbook, while also getting accustomed to his new surroundings.
“I think he has an opportunity to play on Sundays if he continues to play the way he plays and work the way he works,” Kasperowicz said.
Before he starts worrying about playing in college or even professionally, though, Jackson and the Rams have some unfinished business to attend to after last year’s WPIAL title game left a sour taste in their mouths.
This year, Pine-Richland has shifted down to Class 5A, considered by many to be the toughest classification in the WPIAL to win a championship. Instead of targeting a likely playoff encounter with Central Catholic or North Allegheny like in years past, the Rams have a litany of potential title contenders to deal with, from Gateway to Peters Township to Penn-Trafford to Penn Hills.
Still, with Jackson, Hayes and fellow seniors such as quarterback Cole Spencer and wide receiver Eli Jochem back for one more year, Pine-Richland won’t be satisfied with just winning a third WPIAL title in four years. For this senior class, anything less than a state championship will be viewed as a disappointment.
“We’ve known about this group for a long time,” Kasperowicz said. “We have a pretty good shot to go out there and compete for one again, so we’re excited about it.”