It's been 11 weeks, but the moment seems much longer in the past with all that's transpired in this Gophers football season.
In the opener against Nebraska on Aug. 31, Daniel Jackson leaped out of bounds to snare the ball out of the air while simultaneously dragging his right toe in bounds. A fan might pull a muscle just thinking about the catch.
Jackson's catch of a fourth-and-10 pass from Athan Kaliakmanis for a 13-yard touchdown tied the score 10-10 with 2:32 to play in a game the Gophers would win 13-10. It's a signature moment of 2023 for Jackson, but not nearly the only highlight for the junior who's seized the role as WR1 for Minnesota.
When the Gophers face No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday afternoon in "The Horseshoe," consensus will say the best wide receiver on the field will be Buckeyes star Marvin Harrison Jr., whose 12 touchdown catches rank second nationally and who is averaging 18 yards on his Big Ten-leading 59 receptions.
The second best? With apologies to Buckeyes five-star wideouts Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming, that title — based on 2023 productivity — might belong to Jackson, a former three-star recruit whose 681 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches rank third in the Big Ten.
"He's developing into a No. 1 receiver in the Big Ten for us, and he's worked really hard at it,'' Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said. "It encompasses a lot to say that you're that guy, from going back to Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson. … Daniel is really developing into somebody that we trust in every situation, and his best football is ahead of him."
Work leads to improvement
At 6-foot and 200 pounds, Jackson doesn't have the physical tools of the 6-4, 205-pound Harrison, but the Kansas City, Kan., native makes it work by putting in the work, constantly striving to learn.