Hello: Kyle Jackson

Michigan has officially landed its first Canadian in the class of 2012, as Inside Lacrosse confirms that ON M Kyle Jackson will become a Wolverine.

Future Wolverine Kyle Jackson (photo via Kitchener-Waterloo Braves)

Relevant Articles

The IL commitment article covers a lot of his game:

Kyle Jackson, M, The Hill Academy, Ont. has committed to play for Michigan. A nimble, skilled midfielder with explosive moves, Jackson was ranked #7 on J.P. Donville’s Canada Rising 2012 class. He was a member of the U-19 Team Ontario squad last year that won the Canadian provincial championships for field lacrosse. Playing for the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves in the OLA Junior A ranks, Jackson registered 19 goals and 26 assists this past season.

The JP Donville ranking referenced also breaks down his skills a bit more:

Jackson is a superb dodger and play maker and is virtually ambidextrous. Jackson also possesses breakaway speed in the midfield which makes him a terrific player in both offensive and defensive transition.

Breakaway speed with two hands of Canadian-level stick skills? Sign me up! Add to that his quickness and dodging ability, and you have yourself a high-level midfielder, to say the least.

Inside Lacrosse was impressed with him at last summer’s Reebok Top 100 camp:

Kyle Jackson initially stood out for his high jersey number (juniors/seniors were given 1 through 100, but as a late registrant Jackson had 139 applied with electrical tape) and neon green undershirt. But the middie soon showed more, including poise and a nice passing touch on offense, speed, good positioning on defense and tenacity.

In the fall, he also showed well at the TurkeyShoot:

With 55 seconds left, Kyle Jackson (2012) quite smoothly dodged the left alley, got some space, wound up and picked the top right corner on a gorgeous shot to make it 9-8.

They spilled some serious ink (pixels?) on him following the Tully Cornfield Classic:

A player likely receiving plenty of college attention right now is Hill midfielder Kyle Jackson (2012). He is very fast, has excellent hands, and I really liked the way he moves with the ball, especially from up top. His passes are fast and accurate, and he can rip it. What impressed me was that the Hill runs him all over the field. He can play defense, and then stays right on and keeps playing offense. He has the sophisticated handle of a Canadian, but the way that he carries the ball seems more American, with some serious finesse and quickness. And it’s effective (against Bridgton, he had no problem slipping right through the defense), as the coaches called for him to isolate plenty of times over the two days. And he can go right down either lane, and he looks natural both righty and lefty. He plays on the wing on the draw. He’s not very tall, but that didn’t appear to be a problem Saturday, and his athleticism is complemented by a very good stick. Jackson made a great play to rob the Rams on a clear, then quickly flicking it to junior Derek Thomas for the cherry pick.

This summer, he once again attended the Reebok Top 100, and once again impressed:

Shifty righthander can slide to midfield and use his speed to be effective both ways. Needs to get bigger but doesn’t let size deter him from sticking his nose into the play.

They had him listed at attack, though he’s listed as a midfielder everywhere else, and made the All-Star roster as a midfielder. He’s also listed by the team roster as a lefty, which could either speak to his ambidexterity, or simply discredit the above report.

Like many Canadians, he grew up with the box game:

Jackson began playing lacrosse at age three and, until two years ago [at age 14], only played the indoor, or box, version. That changed at a provincial camp in London two years ago when he tried field lacrosse and became hooked.

That’s from an article discussing his presence, as a 16-year old, on the U-19 Ontario team. Speaking of said team, it took the pipe to the rest of Canada last summer:

Sarnia’s Kyle Jackson was a part of the national championship winning Ontario squad which ran roughshod over all of its opponents, outscoring the opposition by a 117-11 total in five games played.

“I’d have to say it was a bit easier than I thought it was going to be,” said Jackson. “We were favoured to win, but I didn’t think we’d win by that much. I don’t know if we were just that good, or if the other teams were weak.”

Jackson played on the top line in the tourney, along with the tournament MVP Justin Rasmussen.

“We worked really well together,” said Jackson. “He was more of the scorer and I picked up quite a few assists,” something that is harder to do in field lacrosse as assists are not awarded after a player has taken more than a few steps with the ball.

Though there’s a bit of love for his defensive skills, he considers himself “primarily an offensive player.” That makes sense, given his offensive abilities. Playing at Hill, he’s been able to work on lacrosse year-round.

Jackson (#5) doesn't look so tiny. (Photo via Hill Academy)

He tied for 44th in points during the regular season in Ontario Junior A this year – third on his team. He was honored by the mayor of Sarnia for his exploits on the lacrosse field (sorry, honoured). He’s on rosters all over the internet, and not a single one lists a size for him. However, in some pictures, including the one at right, he doesn’t look so tiny, after all.

Other Interest

He has mentioned in the past that he would like to play at Syracuse, and apparently the Orange gave him a look. However, that’s about all I could find on him. Hill is pretty well-scouted, so you’d think there would be a bit mor information available.

Teammates of Note

Jackson is the third 2012 player out of The Hill Academy to commit to a college, per LaxPower (teammate Cooper Charlton, also headed to Michigan per LaxPower, would be the fourth). Defender Luke Magnan is headed to Robert Morris, and attack Zachary Herreweyers is going to Loyola.

In the 2011 class, 12 graduates went on to sign with D-1 colleges. Yeah, The Hill Academy is kind of a big deal. That number includes three other midfielders – Brian Cole headed to Maryland, Patrick Corbett going to Lehigh, and Tyler Gilligan going to Marquette – and Jackson was a starter over at least one of them. There were also two attack/midfield combo players (Jackson is also one, though I think he’s slated for the midfield in college), one to Providence and one to Marquette.

In the 2010 class, only three players from Hill Academy went on to Division-1 lacrosse, but their schools of choice were Syracuse (D/LSM Ryan Burnham), Cornell (A/M Daniel Lintner), and Denver (A Jeremy Noble). This school puts out talent, yo.

Video

I couldn’t find any Jackson-specific highlight videos, but there’s plenty out there for Hill Academy, if you care to slog through them.

The Upshot

Without knowing how big Jackson is – and only one report that his size is an issue – it’s tough to find a whole lot wrong with his game. He’s also the first pure offensive midfielder in the class, and has the Canadian-style skills down with both hands. His athleticism gets some praise, and he’s known as a good dodger.

This is a guy who will play early. He may not start right away, but Michigan doesn’t have anybody (that I know of) with this skill set – and this much talent – playing in the midfield. Even if they have some guys who are close (Jeff Chu is known as a quick dodger, for example), I think Jackson’s polish helps him see some early playing time.

Down the road, he could develop into the first elite-level midfielder of the varsity era for Michigan.