Kearis Jackson up for Wuerffel Trophy for on and off field leadership
Watch list season has reached its peak here within the last couple of weeks and will come to a close before too long with the last lists being released before the start of fall camp next week. While most have focused on the field, today’s watch list, the Wuerffel Trophy, takes the attention off the field and is presented annually to the FBS player who “best combines exemplary community service with leadership on and off the field.” Georgia wide receiver Kearis Jackson made the cut, one of 115 players across College Football to be included.
Jackson, who is entering his fifth season with the program, has been a big contributor on the field during his time in Athens. After redshirting as a freshman back in 2018, Jackson saw action in 11 of 14 games with seven starts in 2019. His production was limited due to a hand injury he suffered in the season-opener that caused him to play with a cast, but being on the field and helping the team in the run game as a blocker certainly showed his dedication to the team. Then, in 2020, Jackson bounced back in a big way by leading the team in receiving during the COVID-shortened season with 36 catches for 514 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the Bulldogs in punt and kickoff return yardage with returns of over 50 yards in both areas. He set career-highs in several categories that season including a nine-reception, 147-yard game against Auburn. That came on the heels of leading the team against Arkansas with six catches for 62 yards, and he followed the big primetime performance with four catches, 91 yards and his first career touchdown the next week in a win over Tennessee. Later that year, he had another big day with four catches for 55 yards including a 40-yard touchdown grab against Mississippi State.
Jackson had offseason knee surgery after the 2020 season, but still managed to play in all 15 games of the 2021 National Championship campaign. His numbers went down, but in many ways, he was an unsung hero of the Bulldogs by just being able to go out there and play through the pain, wearing a knee brace for a portion of the season. That gave Georgia some sense of stability at wide receiver, a position where the team struggled to stay healthy all season long. Jackson will once again look to provide stability this season with Georgia having to replace players like George Pickens, Jermaine Burton and others in the passing game. He also earned preseason First-Team All-SEC honors as a return specialist as voted on by the media at SEC Media Days.
But that’s not all. Jackson has been a leader for Georgia off the field during his entire career. In 2020, he was named one of three student representatives on the UGA Athletics Board of Directors. He also represented the University at the SEC Football Leadership Council, an important time to do so given the concerns over playing during COVID as well as helping handle on-field matters like the transfer portal. He continued his involvement with the SEC in 2022 as one of five Georgia student-athletes representatives that attended a two-day meeting at the SEC offices in Birmingham at the end of June, meeting with other student-athletes within the conference to discuss matters like leadership and mental health.
