Jacob De Jesus emerging as star of UNLV football practice — again

Players like Jacob De Jesus are easy to fall in love with, especially at this time of year.

As an undersized player from an undersized school — De Jesus is a juco transfer listed at 5-foot-7 — he is the quintessential underdog. The archetype of the scrappy slot receiver is well-trodden, and with good reason, because it’s the one position on the field where players with De Jesus’s physical profile can thrive.

And that’s what he’s been doing throughout the offseason. Since transferring to UNLV in the winter, the junior has done nothing but produce during spring practice, then in the spring game, and now in the first week of fall camp.

But doing it against teammates in non-contact drills and doing it against live opponents looking to lay a big hit over the middle is an entirely different thing. Every day, however, De Jesus continues to get open and catch passes, sometimes on two or three plays in a row against competitive defenses.

It’s enough to make you think that he’s no flash in the pan, and that he may be able to keep it up when the real games begin next month.

De Jesus said he’s still getting comfortable at UNLV, hinting that his upward trajectory is not complete.

“Springtime was like a learning experience to me,” De Jesus said. “Coming from juco, it took some time to get used to. Now in the fall, I feel like a veteran. I know the playbook better, I know how the defense is aligned better, and how to play my role.”

De Jesus was a monster at Modesto JC last year, catching 64 passes for 914 yards and five touchdowns. Despite that production, he didn’t have a robust recruiting market, likely due to his size.

Offensive coordinator Brennan Marion saw him as a potential playmaker in his unique Go-Go Offense, however, and De Jesus has spent the offseason proving him right.

“If you look at my track record, I always get fast players,” Marion said. “All the time, people say, ‘Oh, this guy’s too skinny,’ or, ‘This guy’s too small,’ but that’s always the guy scoring touchdowns in the game. We want fast people that can score in one play. We don’t want to have to call 12 perfect plays, we want to call four or five plays because guys can take it to the house.”

In UNLV’s intrasquad spring scrimmage, De Jesus led all players with 10 receptions, 136 yards and a touchdown.

De Jesus has mostly been working out of the slot, but he can also line up wide and make himself a factor on end-arounds and jet sweeps. During the opening week of camp, it was rare to see the first-team offense go more than a snap or two without getting him involved.

“I feel like I was very underrated coming out of high school and coming out of junior college, but I think this offense fits my abilities and my quickness perfectly,” De Jesus said. “Coach Marion draws up some pretty good plays for us.”

De Jesus said the hardest part of transitioning from juco to Division I has been the speed of the game in general. That hasn’t stopped him from continually creating separation and making himself available over the middle for easy yards.

Senior defensive back Jerrae Williams has matched up frequently with De Jesus in practice and offered a simple explanation for how he’s able to get open so consistently.

“Jacob — quickest wide receiver I’ve ever seen,” Williams said.

Junior quarterback Doug Brumfield has taken advantage of De Jesus’s penchant for finding open space, targeting him regularly in all areas of the field. The two have worked hard throughout the offseason to develop a rapport, including player-led practices and throwing sessions outside the normal scope of team activities.

Expectations are high for Brumfield in his first year as the unquestioned starter, and it’s getting harder and harder to picture the offense having success unless De Jesus is heavily involved.

“I definitely feel like me and Doug have been getting a good rhythm together,” De Jesus said. “At first in the spring, things were a little shaky, like we weren’t on the same page all the time. Part of it had to do with me and my learning experience during the spring. But in the fall, since we’ve been working a lot more together and getting a lot more reps in together, I feel like we’ve really got a rhythm going. He’s really been connecting with me and all the other receivers.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.