Getty Head coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates after a touchdown during the second half against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lambeau Field on January 12, 2020 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The Seattle Seahawks revealed two roster moves as the first week of training camp nears a close. Seattle pulled off one of their more intriguing moves in some time by signing former Iowa State basketball player Michael Jacobson. The Seahawks view the 6’7″, 244-pound player as a potential tight end. Jacobson spent last year playing for Kyiv-Basket of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague.
To make room for Jacobson, the Seahawks released receiver Darvin Kidsy who faced an uphill battle to make the final roster given the team’s depth at the position. It will also be challenging for Jacobson to make the team as well with the number of quality tight ends the Seahawks have, including new offseason addition Gerald Everett.
Here is a look at Jacobson’s college basketball highlights.
Jacobson Was a Starter at Iowa State
Jacobson played football at Waukee High School in Iowa and had an offer to play at Iowa State. Instead, Jacobson opted to play basketball at Nebraska but transferred to Iowa State after two seasons to continue his hoops career, per Seahawks.com. Jacobson was a starter for the majority of his college career, including his final three seasons. The former Cyclones forward’s best season came his junior year (2018-19 season) as Jacobson posted 11.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
During a March 2019 interview with the Des Moines Register, Jacobson discussed his transition to becoming one of the leaders on the team. Jacobson sent Iowa State head coach Steve Prohm a lengthy text message expressing his desire to step up his leadership responsibilities with the team.
“I can’t remember word for word,” Jacobson explained at the time. “It was a long text. But I got to the end and I just said, ‘I just think the biggest thing I need to do to help this team get better is be more of a vocal leader for these guys — hold people accountable and just make sure we’re doing things the right way.”
Carroll on Tight Ends: ‘This Is a Really Strong Group for Us’
Jacobson will be competing against a stacked group of tight ends which Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll has praised throughout the offseason. Colby Parkinson is expected to have more of a role in his second season with Everett as the likely starter. Will Dissly is also still with the team giving the Seahawks several options for two-tight end sets.
“This is a really strong group for us,” Carroll said in June, per Seahawks.com. “… Those three guys are really, really exciting for us. There’s flexibility in the guys, they can all run and catch the football. I’m really pumped about that position, and I know Russell’s jacked about it. He’s got different types of targets. We like to do stuff with the guys that they do that’s unique to them, and that’s what we’re working out right now with them. We’re developing that.”
Carroll constantly preaches competition so we can expect Jacobson to have every opportunity to prove himself in training camp. There are plenty of roster moves ahead as the Seahawks look to finalize their 53-man roster by Week 1.