Friday night lights in Texas offered an opportunity for The Wolverine to see two 2021 Michigan offensive line targets in Donovan Jackson and Cullen Montgomery.
The pair were a dominant force for Houston (Texas) Bellaire Episcopal as it steamrolled Addison (Texas) Greenhill, 44-0. Both Jackson and Montgomery were pulled during the third quarter of the blowout.
Let’s go ahead and start off with Jackson, who is the higher rated of the two.
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The Rivals100 prospect had a tremendous offseason as he won OL MVP at The Opening Finals as an underclassman and also earned an invitation to the Rivals Five-Star Challenge.
Jackson proved to be more than a camp warrior as he absolutely dominated on the field. He overpowered the man in front of him with his sheer size and strength and notched a few pancakes throughout the night.
The thing that stood out to me the most about Jackson this offseason was his technique. Jackson is an extremely smart kid in the classroom and has a super high football IQ.
Jackson is much further along from a development standpoint than most of his counterparts. His technique coupled with his power can create moments that look like a scene from the movie The Blindside.
Jackson is listed an offensive tackle, but his frame screams guard to me. That’s not to take anything away from Jackson. He’s one of my favorite prospects in 2021, and I think he can be an elite interior player.
He has tackle athleticism with guard characteristics, and that’s a lethal combination. It’s not often that offensive linemen make early impacts in their careers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Jackson gets on the field almost immediately wherever he lands.
On the flip side of the coin, Montgomery played above his three-star raking. This kid has an impressive offer list for a reason and should be in line for a bump the next time rankings are updated.
At 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, Montgomery actually looks bigger than his listed size. If he trims a bit of bad body weight, which he will once he gets into a college strength and conditioning program, Montgomery will be a multi-year starter at right tackle at a high level P5 school, in my opinion.
Montgomery isn’t as refined as Jackson, but he might be nastier. Montgomery served up several pancakes on the night and showed no mercy as he absolutely obliterated opposing defensive linemen.
Montgomery knows how to utilize his sheer size and strength to overpower the opposition at the high school level. Again, he needs a bit of technical work and body shaping, but this is a four-star prospect.
Lastly, I do want to mention that both Montgomery and Jackson are light on their feet. You can tell they have been well coached and are constantly working on their feet and athleticism.
From a recruiting standpoint, Montgomery visited Michigan in the offseason and plans to return to Ann Arbor this fall. Michigan is squarely in the mix for his services.
Jackson has family in the Midwest and named Michigan in his Top 8 a couple of months ago. The Wolverines need to push to get him on campus soon, though.
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