By james art CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jamal Coker first learned his son was a special football player during a Virginia game more than 10 years ago. He calls it a “standout story” where Jalen Coker was so annoying to an opponent that Jamal started calling him an “ankle biter.”
“I had tears in the corner of my eye,” recalled the elder Coker, a high school star who grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. “I didn’t show tears, but they were there.”
Those tears returned Sunday when Jalen, an undrafted rookie wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, caught four passes for 78 yards and his first NFL touchdown in a 28-14 loss to the Denver Broncos.
It was a good story for a team that hasn’t had much with an NFL-worst 1-7 record heading into its seventh straight losing season.
The former Holy Cross star hopes to continue the history on Sunday when the Panthers face the New Orleans Saints (2-6) at Bank of America Stadium (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
After being released before the Panthers’ first meeting with the Saints, a 47-10 loss in Week 1, he was re-signed to the practice squad and now has a chance to become a feature player. His star is rising quickly, especially after former Pro Bowler Diontae Johnson was traded to the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday.
Ironically, not being considered fast is what kept Coker from being drafted, even though he set a Crusaders record with 31 touchdown catches.
“Every NFL scout that came in and talked about him was petrified by his top speed,” said Holy Cross strength and conditioning coach Chris Grautsky, also the team’s pro partner.
Coker ran the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds at the NFL combine, which ranked 28th among the class of 2024. Carolina first-round pick Xavier Legette was seventh at 4.39.
“I’ve always tried to explain it by asking them if they’ve ever seen a plane take off from the runway,” Grautsky said. “It doesn’t look like it’s going 300 miles an hour because of the size. His frame is so big [6-foot-3, 213 pounds] and his shoulders are so broad that to the untrained eye he looks like a slow one.
“He’s not even slow.”
What caught the Panthers’ eye was Coker’s body control and route running.
Coker showed that against the Broncos, especially on a 29-yard catch down the left sideline in tight coverage. He represented everything rookie head coach Dave Canales saw at the team’s rookie minicamp.
“Size, instincts, top-level separation ability,” Canales said at the time. “He’s really clever in zones. He knows how to find open spaces.”
Coker reminds Canales of Jermaine Kearse, an undrafted free agent who worked out with the Seattle Seahawks. Kearse played eight years in the league, catching 255 passes for 3,200 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“He had that hunger and he just played when they came to him, and pretty soon he was one of our starters,” Canales said.
Steve Smith Sr., Carolina’s all-time leading receiver with 836 catches, called Coker “a hell of a route runner” before the draft. He compared him to former NBA center/forward Tim Duncan because he saw no wasted movement in his route running.
Said Grautsky: “Exactly. It was like saying this guy is fundamentally sound … like he embodies the way Jalen fundamentally plays the game.”
Coker arrived at Holy Cross a pencil thin 190 pounds and not very strong. He put on 20 pounds of muscle and by the time he left, he was squatting 550 pounds and had 163 catches for 2,684 yards.
Coker says his transition to the NFL has been “challenging at times” because he’s never played against big cornerbacks like Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, but he believes things are starting to click.
“I’ve always envisioned myself in this position,” Coker said. “I’m very hardworking and you do the right things, you get rewarded for them.
Teammates light up at the mention of Coker.
“The dude always gets away,” center Brady Christensen said.
Fellow wide receiver David Moore, an undrafted receiver out of Division II East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, agrees.
“Every time I see him play, catch something, it just fires me up,” he said. “Every time he does something, I walk up to him and just say, ‘Hey bro, it’s you.’ Keep doing your job.”
That was the message Coker’s mother, Jenny, posted on X on Sunday: “The dream lives on! Keep being a kid – we’re all here rooting for you!”
Coker’s dream was always to make it to the NFL as a receiver, though he entered college as a linebacker because of the genes he inherited from his 6-4 father, which he calls “a huge part, if not the biggest part” of where is today
Cocker also inherited the “baby face” DNA from his father, who at 47 still has trouble growing a beard.
“I hope I can keep it up when I’m 50 so I still look like I’m 25 at this point,” said Jaylen, who turned 23 on Wednesday.
For now, Coker is focused on the next step. He has already distinguished himself among NFL rookies.
Among rookie receivers with at least 15 targets, he ranks fourth in yards per catch (15.5), third in yards after contact (2.08) and third in reception percentage over 20 yards (25%) .
He is on pace to surpass Gordie Lockbaum, who never played in an NFL regular season game, as Holy Cross’ greatest ever player.
He is doing all the things his father saw in football.
“I stay on social media [with people saying] J was so good, he is,” Jamal said. “I have to back off because I don’t want to expose him saying it’s the best thing since sliced bread.
“But I mean, he really is such a good player.”
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