How Michael "Big Gucci" Jerrell used loyalty to make his way to the NFL
Everything Seahawks - Former Findlay and Current Seahawks OL Michael Jerrell - An Exclusive Meeting BEFORE Michael Jerrell got drafted by the Seahawks.
Seahawks Today Lead Writers: Shrihun Sankepally and Nevin Tamilselvan ———————————————————
Budding NFL offensive lineman Michael Jerrell made history last week by being the first player to be drafted out of the University of Findlay in nearly 50 years. Jerrell was the only D2 Division athlete to be selected in the 2024 draft and received multiple All-American honors en route to a successful collegiate career at Findlay. For Michael, Findlay has been an important part of his football career and identity.
"The area it was in, it reminded me of home, a close tight-knit community … The vibes I got off campus, everybody loved everybody. It’s never just one person at Findlay. That’s the main reason I went there - because everybody wants to see you win. You don’t see that in many programs”
One place Jerrell has fond memories of on campus is the business building, which has received huge renovations in recent years and was a favorite place of Jerrell and his friends.
“We all used to hang out in the Business building, that was our thing. They got food and a refinery for us to chill and a game room on campus where we could chill”
In addition to this, Jerrell cites that an interactive education and learning environment were also key in his decision to attend Findlay.
With this new education, Jerrell has already started planning for his future beyond football, graduating from Findlay with his bachelor’s and master’s in business administration. After his football career is over, he plans, amongst other things, to start a business providing football training to youth in his area.
“…open up something like Supreme, Jordan, Nike … my dream would be to open up a store like that. Also want to go into real estate investing, and then part time, starting my own O-line training business, to help the kids and the community and make it affordable”
Jerrell originally started playing basketball at the age of 4 before transitioning to a football career in middle school before earning the starting job as a left tackle in his senior year. Jerrell mentions that basketball for him mirrors offensive line gameplay in the way he defends the post near the rim.
“Yeah, I would say playing the post primarily … when you’re defending the post it’s kind of resembles playing offensive line, so you’re trying to keep the defender from getting to the basket and hold your ground, not getting pushed back… like how the defensive line is trying to bully me to get to the quarterback”
Before transitioning to left tackle, Jerrell played multiple positions on his high school’s JV team, including tight end and even defensive line. Jerrell says this added positional flexibility made him stand out to coaches and helped teach him about offensive line technique.
“Having that experience made it so coaches wanted to design plays for me … playing on a defensive line and having to play long translated to playing long at tackle”
One thing that makes Jerrell stand out is his rare athleticism, with 34 inch arms standing tall at 6’4, 310 with a RAS score of 9.3 (A RAS score is a relative testing score that compares testing numbers to other players at the same position from 1-10). Jerrell mentions wants to take advantage of these skills with a balanced aggression, whether it comes to pass blocking or run blocking.
“It’s about balance. When it comes to aggression I like to bully guys, put them into the ground … now you get certain thrills when you’re driving a guy against his will … you get certain thrills when a guy is trying to bull rush and you take him and throw him out the club, it’s just a balance between all of them.”
At Findlay, Jerrell mentions a host of players and coaches that he felt pushed him everyday to work harder and were responsible for his development as a player and human being. These include head coach Kory Allen, former head coach Robert Keys, former defensive coordinator Darius Davis, and Head Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Chad Wagner.
Jerrell also mentions past players who helped install a locker room culture that made it easy for him to thrive at Findlay, including players like Neal Davis, Andrew Dickson, Clay Colvin, Ben Farrar, and Christian Olmstead. He thanks all the defensive ends, namely Reggie Micheaux and Jack Morrison.
“me and him [Ben Farrar] competing against each other … going against Reggie and Jack … those guys help push me every day, put me on my toes”
Findlay HC Kory Allen is a key member of the program and someone Jerrell says has directly improved the state of the program, from his infectious energy to his unwavering loyalty and his love of the game of football.
“He’s a passionate football junkie. He loves football, loves talking about football, he comes in and brings the energy everyday. He wants to put everyone in the right position to succeed and he put the program before himself. He probably had many opportunities to leave the program, but that’s [Findlay’s] family to him. He’s a loyal, driven, hard-nosed coach. He’s tough, he’s not afraid of anything. That’s the type of coach you want leading the program”
Jerrell has spent 6 years at Findlay, and experienced multiple regime changes like last year, when Allen was officially hired at HC after serving as OC for the team for the past few seasons. Under Allen, Jerrell mentions how the state of the program facilities has gotten better but more importantly the mentality of the team has evolved into a mantra.
“We saw things like new jerseys, new helmets … we even installed a practice facility on campus outside of the locker room … the culture in the locker room … no one’s greater than the team, that’s the kind of mentality we have in the locker room”
During his time at Findlay, Jerrell mentions that some of his favorite experiences have been playing their rivals, Tiffin. He enjoys playing spoiler to them and recounts a wild experience in a snow game where they pitched a shutout.
“Any year we play Tiffin is always a good time, a good experience because they are our rivals. Beating them was the best thing ever. It’s usually the conference championship game everytime we play them … going into Tiffin, last game of the season my 5th year, we were underdogs going into the game. We went up on those guys 24-0, it was freezing cold … it was just a great game to get the win at their place. They had a losing season that year because of that game, and they were the favorite while we had a 5-6 game winning streak after starting off the season 1-4”
Prior to being drafted in the 6th round, Jerrell had a Top 30 visit with the Seahawks and toured the facility while meeting with several coaches and officials within the Seahawks organization.
“It felt like a home away from home. Visiting Seattle was a great experience, beautiful city, beautiful facilities. Some of the best facilities I’ve ever seen in my life. The coaching staff from the offensive coordinator to the scouts, meeting them seemed like a family vibe. Coach Huff reminds me of my O-line coach and Coach Nugent reminds me of the other side of my offensive line coach, the football junkie side of him. The way he talked and carried himself reminded me of my head coach, Kory Allen. You could tell they’re a real passionate group … they look at us like coworkers … ‘you do your job and we both win’ mindset … I really enjoyed it”
Jerrell mentions that what he looks for in a team is one with mainly the desire to win and an established culture.
“I want to be a part of a team that wants to win… a locker room with good energy. Culture, Winning, wanting to get better on and off the field”
After being drafted by Seattle, Jerrell mentions that he wants to come to training camp knowing the possibility that he may be pushed to do things outside of his comfort zone, such as changing positions along the OL.
After accomplishing so much at Findlay, Michael mentions that he feels that the only part of his story he’d like to rewrite would be Findlay winning the national championship. Jerrell managed to win numerous awards and be part of winning teams at Findlay, something many colleges can’t say of late.
“I did everything … got All-American awards, went to the playoffs … things that most programs don’t get to experience for decades, and I got to experience that at Findlay. Really, I have no regrets”
Jerrell’s biggest lesson, something he would tell himself and other offensive linemen at the beginning of their journeys, would be to stay working.
RE: One big advice to upcoming OL: “Staying focused, work on your craft. Be open-minded and always be ready to work, never take anything for granted. Everything is earned not given. You can accomplish anything as long as you’re willing to put the work in”