Baltimore native Jalen Green entered his final season at James Madison as a relative unknown. But a breakout season by the Good Counsel graduate put his name on the NFL radar with a style of play that resembles a former Baltimore Ravens rival.
Green had just 5.0 career sacks before erupting for 15.5 in just nine games in 2023. His outstanding production resulted in numerous accolades, such as College Football Network National Player of the Year.
“I knew the kind of year I had to have in order to draw the kind of attention I wanted to myself,” Green said on Glenn Clark Radio April 4. “I truly believe it was just opportunity meeting preparation.”
After spending his first four seasons with the Dukes deep on the depth chart, Green got an opportunity to start and ran with it. But nothing the 6-foot-1, 245-pound edge rusher did was a surprise to himself.
“The spring ball season we had prior to last season, I was extremely confident in my play,” Green said. “I was feeling really good, making plays every day in practice, and I think everyone around me was kind of looking at me like, ‘Yeah, this might be a special year.'”
The 2023 season was a special one for both Green and James Madison, which finished 11-2. The Dukes are now 19-5 in two seasons since joining the FBS.
But Green’s season was cut short by a knee injury he suffered against Georgia State on Nov. 4, requiring surgery. At the time, Green led the nation in sacks and tackles for loss. He believes if he played the full season, he could have broken Ravens great Terrell Suggs’ single-season FBS record of 24 sacks, set at Arizona State in 2002.
Green is working with Accelerate ACL, a rehab program that has helped NFL stars like Saquon Barkley and Breece Hall recover from similar knee injuries. He likes where he is in his recovery process and hopes to be ready for training camp.
“I’m truly excited to see how I will be feeling and looking four months from now,” Green said. “… I’m confident I’ll be ready to go before training camp.”
With that being said, dealing with such a serious injury hasn’t been easy for Green. His goal was for James Madison to finish the season undefeated. After a 9-0 start, the Dukes lost two of their last four games following Green’s injury.
“It’s definitely challenging mentally, physically and emotionally, honestly,” Green said. “But what’s real encouraging and what keeps me going is the dream of playing at the next level, but also just the encouragement I’ve seen in how good my knee feels just by keeping working. So I just want to keep working and just stay consistent and keep attacking this thing.”
That NFL dream is one that Green had from a young age. His time at Good Counsel, both on and off the field, prepared him to take that next step in his football career.
“It was a tough football schedule, some tough practices, long hours,” Green said. “Long offseasons of committing every day to get better for the season, and I think I drilled in some key principles that I’ve carried on to the next level and will continue to carry on going into the NFL.”
Green, who grew up a Ravens fan, said it would be a “dream come true” to be drafted by his hometown team. But given his small size for an edge rusher, he looked to model his game after former Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison.
Green has never viewed his size as a disadvantage. Rather, he views it as a big reason he’s been so successful.
“Me being undersized is honestly what I love about me,” Green said. “It helps me play the game with great leverage consistently and makes me difficult to block. … I don’t see that as a negative, I just see that it helps me play football.”
For more from Green, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of JMU Athletics Photography