PJ Jackson Looks an Awful Lot Like a Former Cowboy Receiver

LARAMIE -- Looks can be deceiving.

A quick glance at a pass-catching drill last Tuesday afternoon inside War Memorial Stadium led to an immediate double -- heck, triple -- take.

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There, in the slot, stood a short, slender wideout from Morgan Park High School in Chicago. He's even wearing the No. 13. His dreadlocks stick slightly out of the bottom of his helmet, he has a sleeve of tattoos and he even sports a long, thin towel tucked into the back of his pants.

Then came the snap.

The burst was immediately apparent. Then came the slight shimmy at the top of a crisp break to the inside. He snagged the ball in stride and coasted down the seam.

Is that ... Chris Durr Jr?

"I get that a lot," Pierre Jackson said with a smile, adding that he's even faster.

There's a good reason the redshirt freshman looks like last year's leading receiver -- they are cousins. Jackson, who goes by PJ, is only an inch taller at 5-foot-11 and weighs three pounds less at 170.

Durr was the first player last fall to announce his intention to leave the program and enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. After hauling in 76 passes for 817 yards and five touchdowns during his two seasons in Laramie, he is now at the University of Maryland.

Sure, Jackson was sad to see him go, admitting it "hit me a little bit." But did he ever think about leaving, too?

"I looked at it as an opportunity," he added. "You know, last year, I was just taking stuff from his game so I could build it for my game. Then, once he left, it gave me a chance to step up and play."

The former three-star recruit capped his senior year with 647 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on only 32 catches. That came off a junior campaign in Georgia where he finished with just one touchdown grab and roughly 200 yards of production.

His athleticism was on further display in the return game, averaging an astounding 36.3 yards per attempt.

"PJ is talented," Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said from behind the podium last Tuesday. "He has the capability to be a good player in this program, and he's going to get a lot of reps."

So will Deion DeBlanc and Eric Richardson, a pair of returners who combined for 202 yards on 27 completions. The lone receiving touchdown belonged to the latter, who hauled in a perfectly-placed 41-yard long ball at Colorado.

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Durr capped his final season with 45 grabs for 469 yards and four scores. In Mountain West play, though, those numbers plummeted. The sophomore averaged less than 30 yards and four catches an outing.

All his fault? Hardly.

Wyoming, led by quarterback Kaden Anderson, once again featured one of the worst passing attacks in the nation, averaging just 183 yards per game. That ranked 111th out of 134 FBS programs. The redshirt sophomore tossed 10 interceptions while completing only 56.3% of his throws.

Still, Sawvel wants to see dynamic playmaking ability in the middle of the field.

"Our productivity in the slot last year was not what it needed to be," he said. "We averaged six-and-a-half yards a catch in conference play. I coached (defensive backs) for 30-plus years. When I see a guy averaging six yards a catch, I'm not too worried, you know? We have to play better at that position all the way through.

"PJ is a factor in that."

Jackson said he had a "rocky start" to his college career, but as the days dragged on last fall, confidence grew. Lining up on the scout team was an eye-opener, he added. The losses he took on the practice fields against the starting defense are now beginning to pay dividends, especially when it comes to his main strength: route running.

"I'm getting so much separation," he said. "I kept thinking, 'I can't wait until next year.'"

Next year is officially here.

"I appreciate PJ," Sawvel said. "PJ works hard. He's got a chance to be a good player."

It's that belief from his coaches, along with watching his cousin and what he was capable of, that tells Jackson he is ready to make this leap into a leading role.

"After seeing Chris play at the size he played at, you know, making big plays against big teams like Colorado and Utah, and doing it all season long, it just builds my confidence," he said. "Like, wow, I could do this, too. I'm this small and I could do this.

Sawvel having faith in me, that just builds my confidence even more."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players