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Daniel Jackson’s stunning catch makes impression on Gophers, an NFL hall of famer and back home in Kansas

andy greder, pioneer press
·5 min read

Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck sat back in his desk chair and directed a red laser pointer at the east wall of his office.

The wall nearest the double-door entrance is almost completely covered in photos of big plays and special moments during his seven-year tenure at Minnesota. Fleck was identifying other ones on the wall. To name two, Antoine Winfield Jr.’s acrobatic interception against Fresno State in 2018 and cancer survivor Casey O’Brien place-holding on extra points against Rutgers in 2019.

After the season, a spot will be cleared for an image of Daniel Jackson’s slick toe-drag reception on the end zone sideline, a late-game catch that helped beat Nebraska in the season opener on Aug. 31.

“It’s maybe the best photo I’ve ever seen,” Fleck told the Pioneer Press of U photographer Brad Rempel’s perfectly-timed shot.

It was the Gophers’ best highlight in a dramatic final two-plus minutes, which featured two defensive takeaways and two scoring plays to help the U pull out a Big Ten victory to start the 2023 season.

The late theatrics were a long time coming. The Gophers’ 10-3 deceit was the biggest home comeback since erasing an 11-point deceit against Iowa in 2011 and it was the U’s biggest fourth-quarter comeback since clawing back from seven points down on three different occasions against Fresno State in 2019.

Dragan Kesich’s 47-yard field goal was the Gophers’ first game-ending winning kick since Ryan Santoro’s 18-yarder in overtime at Colorado State in 2015. And it was Minnesota first walk-off field goal in regulation since Rhys Lloyd’s 35-yarder beat Wisconsin in 2003.

The Gophers will be hard-pressed to deliver that kind of drama again in Week 2 versus Eastern Michigan at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.

A framed 8-by-10 photo of Jackson’s catch will go on Fleck’s office wall because of the poise under pressure and the reception’s degree of difficulty. How did Jackson keep his lead right leg off the ground, while dragging his left toes in-bounds?

“They are taught that,” Fleck said. “If you are on the sideline and you are going to catch the ball out of bounds, you drive whatever opposite knee up. It’s called ‘throw the knee.’ You throw the knee up and it forces the back toe to go down. … He throws his leg in the air, same thing. The toe will force its way down.”

The image — which looks like Michael Jordan’s “Jumpman” logo — played on all the TV and social media highlights and was quickly converted into a T-shirt by Dinkytown Athletes, the Gophers’ name, image and likeness (NIL) collective.

Jackson’s catch last Thursday also created a stir in suburban Kansas City, Kan. His coach at Bishop Miege High School, Jon Holmes, let out a roar when Jackson made the grab after 10 p.m., a reaction that woke up two of his four children.

“A couple of my kids came out” of their bedrooms, Holmes said. “ ‘What is going on?’ ‘Well, Danny just won the game for them.’ That was an awesome catch to see.”

Jackson made some impressive catches at the end of the 2022 season, primarily against Wisconsin in the regular-season finale and in the Pinstripe Bowl win over Syracuse. But Fleck turns the page back to September, when Jackson caught two TD passes at Michigan State, including a leaping grab in the end zone.

“I think that was his first coming-out party; that was like, ‘This guy is legit,’ ” Fleck said.

Jackson had his only 100-yard receiving game against Purdue the next week, but the Gophers struggled to get him the ball in the next two weeks and he had just one catch for four yards in losses to Illinois and Penn State.

“This year, he’s a huge focal point of the offense,” Fleck said, including other top pass catchers — tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford, slot receiver Corey Crooms and Chris Autman-Bell, once he fully recovers from his knee injury.

Holmes, who is in his 20th year at Bishop Miege in Roeland Park, Kan., said the best play Jackson made in high school came during his sophomore season in 2017. It was a 98-yard connection from quarterback Carter Putz, who went on to play baseball at Notre Dame, and it helped beat rival St. Thomas Aquinas.

“It was early in the year, so we are trying to figure out how special we thought he was,” Holmes said. “He ran by their best defensive back. Then the acceleration after the catch. He pulled 10, 15 yards away from the guy. To be able to do that as a sophomore was pretty, pretty special.”

Holmes had texted Jackson the morning of the Nebraska game, saying “Good luck. Put a show on.”

Jackson replied then. After the game, Holmes texted again. But Jackson didn’t immediately reply this time because his phone was blowing up. On the Go Gopher podcast with Mike Grimm, Jackson said Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Calvin Johnson sent a message, and that reply came first.

Jackson later messaged his high school coach. He thanked Holmes and wished his alma mater good luck in their game last Friday.

“He’s that type of kid, where he checks in on our (current) players,” Holmes said. “He really stays connected with what we do as a program, too.”

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