We've made it three draft choice signings in the last two days with the announcement today that we've signed fifth-round linebacker Jeremiah George of Iowa State.
George (5'11", 234) was the productive Cyclones middle 'backer for four seasons from 2010-13. Last year as a true senior he did it all with 133 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 12.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, eight pass defenses and three forced fumbles. For his career he totaled 47 games (17 starts), 225 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 16 TFL, and 11 PDs.
George told reporters he got an expanded role last season at ISU and that played to one of his strengths.
"I love being in coverage," he said. "Playing in the Big 12, everybody loves to throw the ball 100 times a game. That's where I'm most at home."
As for his role with the Jets, George said that hasn't been discussed yet.
"More than anything, we talked about me coming in to work and just really embracing being in an environment that loves to compete," he said. "The role? No one knows. I'm just coming in to compete and be a part of the New York Jets."
Well, actually, head coach Rex Ryan may know. He said at the end of the draft that he likes the flexibility of having a linebacker who can play both the Mike and Will positions.
"In our system right now you have David [Harris] as the Mike and Demario [Davis] as the Will and you have Nick Bellore," Ryan said. "We felt very fortunate to get by with only three inside linebackers last year, where Nick Bellore had to back up both the Mike and the Will to the point to where we didn't really want to play him because we had no more backups.
"So here, Jeremiah fits a role. We'll try to teach him both. We'll flip both those guys. That's what you want to have, that kind of flexibility. We love the fact that he's a run/hit guy, loves to play. He's got great passion for the game. You mentioned the production. We saw all that. We really like him. We think he's a Jet. We'll put him at both spots and maybe switch days where Nick's the Mike one day, maybe just flip them and so forth to make sure they have this whole thing down."
George's signing follows up on the signings of fourth-round OL Dakota Dozier and seventh-round LB Trevor Reilly on Wednesday.
