Jimmie Maxson III adding to UND's depth at wide receiver
· Yahoo Sports
Aug. 2—GRAND FORKS — Jimmie Maxson III has a new number and a new outlook.
The second-year wide receiver from just outside of Chicago made several notable plays on the third day of UND's fall football camp Friday at Memorial Field.
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His back-to-back first-down catches showed why he's starting to make a push to join the wide receiver rotation.
"Jimmie's had a really good first three days of camp, just comparing him to last spring," UND offensive coordinator Danny Freund said. "He's taken a jump over the summer, just with confidence and he's catching the ball a little bit cleaner."
Maxson, who caught one pass as a true freshman last season, said it was a learning year.
In the offseason, he changed his jersey number from 89 to 14.
"I was getting implemented with this last year," Maxson said. "Now, it's go time."
Maxson was an accomplished prep receiver at Brother Rice High School in Chicago.
He had 87 catches for 1,749 yards and 27 touchdowns in his high school career. He was named his team's offensive MVP as a senior.
Maxson was a big-play weapon for Brother Rice, but he says his game is more than that.
"I'm also a team player," he said. "I'm going to go block for my teammates down the field. I'm going to make sure we get in the end zone, no matter what."
At 6-foot-4 and 209 pounds, Maxson is one of UND's tallest receiving targets.
"Big athletic frame," Freund said. "He's really worked on his mobility. Kid can move. He's very athletic. He's a kid that can push to work up the depth chart, maybe get on special teams, then work into the rotation at receiver.
"It's a deep room at receiver in terms of guys that have good skillsets. That's creating competition. We're excited about Jimmie. He's a bigger, longer receiver. Sometimes, those guys take a little bit more time to develop. I've been most impressed with the ball skills and his compete level, taking it up a notch."
Maxson said continuity in the passing game has helped.
UND's top two quarterbacks from last season — Jerry Kaminski and Javance Tupou'ata-Johnson — are both back.
Deng Deng, Korey Tai, Kristen Hoskins, Sam Strandell and Maxson all caught passes last season and return.
"We developed a huge connection — not even just last year, but the offseason and then now (in fall camp)," Maxson said. "We all know each other well. It makes it easier to play ball, play real good ball."