Latest news with #Janke
USA Today
14-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Packers to sign first-year WR Jadon Janke
Packers to sign first-year WR Jadon Janke The Green Bay Packers will sign first-year wide receiver Jadon Janke, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN. Janke (6-2, 205) went undrafted out of South Dakota State in 2024. He spent time with the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans last summer. At South Dakota State, Janke caught 170 passes for 2,800 yards and 30 touchdowns across 67 games. His best season came in 2023 when he set career highs for catches (57), receiving yards (946) and touchdowns (10). Janke also returned 23 career kickoffs and 16 career punts. Last season, Janke played in two preseason games with the Texans and one with the Dolphins. He caught one pass for six yards while playing 39 total snaps. From Lance Zierlein's draft profile of Janke: "Productive multi-year starter with the size, toughness and talent to compete for a backup job as an NFL slot. Janke plays fast and uses gear shifts to make himself seem faster than his timed speed. He's unfazed when working into traffic, but small hands and short arms limit his contested-catch success. He's a tempo-driven route-runner with the balance and footwork to run a more expanded route tree that can span over all three levels, but he must rely on savvy over twitch to separate. He's elusive and willful with the ball in his hands, which could give him a leg up in becoming a 'make-it' prospect." The Packers signed veteran Mecole Hardman, drafted two wide receivers in Matthew Golden and Savion Williams and returned every contributor from last season at receiver, although Christian Watson is expected to miss time in 2025 while recovering from an ACL injury. Green Bay released Tulu Griffin, opening a roster spot. Unless there is a corresponding roster move, the Packers will have 12 receivers on the 90-man offseason roster when Janke is officially added.
Chicago Tribune
27-01-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Never fear, Oak Forest's Jason Janke rolls to conference championship in wrestling return. ‘I was still motivated.'
After eight long weeks on the sidelines, Oak Forest's Jason Janke made sure his return was a triumphant one. Janke had been out since suffering an injury Nov. 26 in the Bengals' first quadrangular. But as he prepared to make his comeback Saturday, he fully believed he could still be a conference champ. 'I was still confident I'd win this,' Janke said. 'The toughest thing is being mentally tough because my stamina isn't the best right now, but I felt pretty good. I was ready to go.' Janke, a junior, showed no signs of rust. In fact, he made it look easy as he dominated his way to the 175-pound title at the South Suburban Conference Tournament at Shepard in Palos Heights. Janke was one of five champions for the Bengals (213 points), who won the team championship over Evergreen Park (174.5). Jason Schickel (106), Jacob Sebek (113), Austin Perez (144) and Blake Bussie (165) also won titles for Oak Forest. Jayden Cervantes (120), Adrian Cervantes (126), Chance Woods (138) and David Johnson (150) were champions from Evergreen Park. Other champs included Lemont's Cory Zator (132), Reavis' William Swierczynski (157), Richards' Mike Taheny (190), Tinley Park's Sebastian Sanderson (215) and Bremen's Marco Olvera (285). Janke (6-0), meanwhile, won one match by technical fall and had two pins, including one in the finals against Shepard's Aiden Hill. It was a fine return after he sat out for eight weeks with a strained trapezius muscle, which extends from the upper back to the back of the neck. 'I went 3-0 in our first meet, then I woke up the next morning and it was all messed up,' Janke said. 'It was really bad being out. The toughest part was just watching wrestling when you can't wrestle.' Oak Forest coach Shawn Forst was impressed with how determined Janke was to get back for the end of the season. 'It took a little while to get diagnosed,' Forst said of the injury. 'It was kind of a bit of puzzle for us to figure out. He did a good job doing things we asked him to do off the mat to stay in shape and stay strong. 'I'm really proud of him for staying focused. It would have been easy to say, 'This year's over.'' Janke also had a standout season as a running back in football for the Bengals, who won a playoff game for the first time since 2016. Janke said he has been competing in both sports his 'whole life' but sticking on the mats took some convincing from his dad, Jason, who wrestled at Bremen. 'At first I didn't like wrestling, but as I kept doing it, I started liking it more and more,' Janke said. I like being able to know that people can't kick my butt. 'I love doing both football and wrestling. Football helps with agility and my footwork on the mat and wrestling helps me with tackling and with breaking tackles.' While Janke showed he's back, Taheny also made a statement and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Ranked No. 4 in Class 2A at 190 by Illinois Matmen, Taheny (29-1) avenged his only loss of the season, edging No. 2 Judah Heeg of Lemont 4-1 in overtime in the finals. 'He beat me 14-0 earlier in the year,' Taheny said. 'This whole match I was like, 'I want to show everybody that I'm a better wrestler than that.' 'It was for me and my family, coaches and teammates. It was for my people.' While Taheny is undoubtedly a state champion contender, Janke goes into the postseason with a point to prove. He fell one win short of making it to state last season. 'That hurt really bad,' Janke said. 'It motivated me all offseason, and even now, I'm still motivated by it now. I'm hungry to become a state qualifier.'
