Golden Bear Preview: Jackson Sirmon
Family ties to the defense
Jackson Sirmon is a man who really loves to play the game of football. Coming to play under his father Peter Sirmon (Cal’s defensive coordinator) must be a dream that every father son duo wants to go through. Hard work and success paying off at one of the highest levels of football, there’s really nothing better. Sirmon is hard nosed, physical, and gives his all on every play, something that Justin Wilcox will definitely value in a defender of his. Sirmon had a good career at the University of Washington, where he started and played a critical role in some of UW’s best defenses in school history. After last season, Sirmon entered the transfer portal and elected to take his talents to Berkeley, where we will get to dive in on a preview of the man who is ready to bring the pain on the field.
The Bio and Measureables:
6 ft 2 in
240 LBS
Brentwood Academy/Loyola HS/University of Washington
via Brentwood, TN
What is Cal getting in Sirmon?
Overall, Jackson Sirmon is a really solid player with a great foundational base at his core. His gap integrity is solid, as seen at the :31 mark, where Zach Charbonnet has a gap to break one open, until the Washington linebackers, most notably Sirmon maintain their gap integrity and rally to the point of tackle for a gain of 2. Sirmon likes to rack up the tackles however just like Evan Weaver, you don’t necessarily want him straight up in man coverage against athletic tight ends like Brant Kuithe, Benjamin Yurosek, or the recently declared Greg Dulcich.
Sirmon does have a tendency to be too patient in regards to making plays, not necessarily making a choice to plug a gap or rush the passer, simply because I think he’s trying to mask a small lack of athleticism with positioning and IQ. As seen throughout the Oregon game here , Sirmon was really passive and got overran by the massive offensive line Oregon has. Couple that with the already smaller sized Cal defenders compared to other teams in the Pac 12, and it does lead me to believe about questionable execution at times. He’s clearly got a ton of tools at his disposal, along with a motor that any coach would love. We’ve seen him at the pinnacle of Pac 12 play, getting playing time with a Rose Bowl level defense all the way back when he was a freshman. Does this Cal defense compare to the recent UW defenses? In some respects yes, especially on the backend of the defense. However, the levels of talent along the front seven are night and day and it remains to be seen how Jackson will acclimate during games after being dinged up during the spring period.
Best of luck to Jackson as he starts his Cal career!
Can he be Evan Weaver or Mike Mohamed?
Welcome to Cal Jackson. He seems poised to become a very significant member of the defense.