Rutgers football certainly won quite the recruiting battle in the transfer portal to land Jaquae Jackson. The wide receiver, who comes to Rutgers with an impressive resume at the Division II level, is an electric playmaker with plenty of speed.
Jackson spent the previous three seasons at Califonia University (Pennsylvania), a Division II program. where he was an All-American in 2022.
There was no shortage of teams after Jackson when he entered the transfer portal. He counts a total of six visits, all at the Power Five level, prior to committing to Rutgers on May 17.
In an interview this week with Johnathan Price, Jackson detailed for the first time where he took visits. It is an indication of just how strongly he was being recruited at the Power Five level.
“I took four official and two unofficial. I didn’t take all my five (official visits),” Jackson told Price.
“I went to Rutgers, I went to Miami, I went to Pitt, I went to West Virginia, I went to Colorado…Texas A&M. Texas A&M too.”
Why all the fuss about Jackson? His production last year at Cal (he had 77 catches for 1,178 yards and 13 touchdowns) certainly speaks for itself. Along with fellow transfer Naseim Brantley (53 catches for 909 yards with nine touchdowns last year at Western Illinois), Rutgers now has two veteran wide receivers.
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Hey #RutgersNation check out this interview with @RFootball’s @quaerid_9 JaQuae Jackson Interview NEW Rutgers | Late Night with Life and Football https://t.co/BlFEmR7Nxp via @YouTube
Had to post! To paraphrase, “I was under recruited [by P5 teams]. Now they’re gonna pay!” ❤️ it!
— Jonathan Price 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 (@CATeam04) July 4, 2023
He believes Rutgers and the Big Ten level is a chance at validation as he looks to take the next step and be featured in an offense at the NFL level.
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At Rutgers, Jackson will have no shortage of NFL experience. Head coach Greg Schiano spent two years in the NFL as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His wide receivers coach is Dave Brock, who was most recently the wide receivers coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
And offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca has produced dozens of NFL players during his two decades of college coaching. Included in that list is Kenny Britt, who was a first round pick in the NFL draft out of Rutgers.
“I always knew what I was going to do, I always got the mindset of knowing what I’m going to do, what I’m going to bring to the table,” Jackson said.
“I already knew that I was due for those great years and I’m even due for a bigger one this year.”
The decision to make the jump to Power Five competition is one that has been on Jackson’s mind for some time. Ending up at a program like Rutgers, he said, is where he always thought he should be.
“Actually last season, I hit the portal as well. I had some issues going on but I ended up coming back,” Jackson said.
“I always had in the back of my head, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to go up and play at that level. I always knew where I belonged and where I can play at. Always had that in the back of my mind for sure.”
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