Running right to left during a spring football drill, Elishah Jackett reached up and effortlessly caught a pass.
This was noteworthy because he's not a University of Washington receiver and never has been.
Maybe he should be.
He looked athletic enough, his gait was even and his hands were soft.
Yet whereas tight end might look good on him in another football lifetime, Jackett (pronounced Jack-ETT) remains an aspiring Husky offensive tackle, a one-time 4-star recruit and someone still challenged to add enough bulk and strength to get into a UW game.
"He's kind of struggled with the weight gain," offensive-line coach Michael Switzer confirmed.
Entering his fourth Husky season, the latest update for Jackett, who hails from Orange, California, is he's made strides.
It was not enough for him to regularly operate in the UW two-deeps during spring ball, but he's bigger and better resembles a college offensive lineman.
When practice ended in May, Jackett listed out on the UW roster at 6-foot-7 and 291 pounds -- roughly up 15 in terms of weight.
Elishah Jackett enters his fourth Husky football season. | Dave Sizer photo
This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.
If this hasn't been done already, someone might want to point Jackett in the direction of Dick's Drive-In on Northeast 45th Street and order him a couple of chocolate shakes, two Dick's Deluxes and plenty of fries on each visit.
Elishah Jackett showed up carrying more weight this spring. | Dave Sizer photo
When spring ball began, Switzer was pleased to report that Jackett was hovering around 296 pounds.
"It's a huge jump for him in terms of this offseason," Switzer said. "A big deal for him is consistency through spring ball and fall camp. It's the availability aspect, being able to stay on the field for all of those things."
Offensive tackle Elishah Jackett listens in on a sideline confab. | Dave Sizer photo
More often than not, Jackett ran with the No. 3 offense, still looking a little on the slender side when in the company of much beefier UW offensive and defensive linemen.
Besides the bigger body, he also showed more attitude while on the job, trading shoves with sophomore edge rusher Devin Hyde during the 12th spring practice.
Jackett needs to keep eating in order to keep fighting.
What he's done: In his fourth season in Montlake, Jackett hasn't appeared in a Husky football game as of yet. It's getting late in his career for him to remain stalled on the depth chart and without a playing background.
Starter or not: Jackett still needs to get his body right before he can even appear in a game. He looks like he could stand to add another 15 pounds or so. At this point, he needs to make a lot more progress or his UW career isn't going to reward him.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington as Life Jackett For This Guy Would Be To Get Bigger and Stronger .
