— Good speed. Can separate from defenders with and without the ball.

— Very good acceleration. Snaps into his top speed in a hurry.

— Very good change of direction and explosiveness. Quick, agile mover in space.

— Above-average route-running tools. Quickness and flexibility serve him well.

— Small frame; terribly light and lacks length.

— Poor strength and ability to fight off DBs, both at the line and throughout routes.

— Struggles with concentration and technique as a pass-catcher. Has issues both in traffic and with random drops.

— Poor ability to break tackles. Lacks balance and power.

— 13 G, 90 REC, 848 YDS (9.4 AVG), 13 TD

— Transferred from UTEP to Arizona in 2022

— 2021 first-team All-C-USA

— 2023 All-Pac-12 honorable mention

Jacob Cowing was asked to be two different receiver archetypes over his college career, with both revolving around his speed.

Cowing was a vertical receiver for his first three seasons at UTEP. He’s twitchy off the line of scrimmage and attacks defensive backs quickly. Though he isn’t an elite burner, Cowing brings threatening speed that forces defenses to respect him down the field. One free step of separation can become a touchdown.

At Arizona, however, Cowing was asked to be more of an underneath yards-after-the-catch earner. His quick feet and effortless change of direction made it an easy transition. Aside from screens and simple shallow crossers, Cowing showed flashes of impressive route-running ability on speed outs, curls and slants. He really explodes and accelerates out of his breaks.

The catch with Cowing is that he’s limited to being sort of a gimmick receiver either way. Though Cowing’s speed and quickness are threatening, he lacks size, length and strength.

Cowing struggles with contact as a route-runner. He can be swallowed up at the line of scrimmage, and he loses a lot of his juice when trying to fight through contact during routes. The same is true when Cowing needs to earn 50-50 balls.

Cowing also battles concentration issues. He shows random flashes of being able to find the ball outside his frame, but he too often loses the ball in traffic. His catching technique fails him at times as well, showing too many moments of “clapping” the ball as it comes in.

Cowing’s speed and explosiveness make him a worthwhile Day 3 bet. Even at his size, it’s hard to find players with that kind of twitch. With that said, Cowing’s lack of size, strength and polish will be limiting, both early on and down the road. Cowing needs a spread-out passing offense that can give him space.

GRADE: 6.0 (High-Level Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)

PRO COMPARISON: Calvin Austin