IMG Academy defensive lineman [autotag]Jayden Jackson[/autotag] narrowed his options down to five schools on Wednesday, and the Florida Gators joined Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas in his top five.
247Sports’ Greg Biggins caught up with Jackson following the announcement and got the scoop on what he likes about each program.
“I was just at Florida a few weeks ago and liked it there a lot,” Jackson said. “I like (defensive line) coach (Sean) Spencer and we have a good connection. He showed me a spreadsheet of all the players he has sent to the League and I know he can develop me as well.”
Jackson also praised Billy Napier for being an easy coach to talk with and a good person.
First and foremost I want to thank God for his continuous blessings, I also would like to thank my Mom for everything that she has done for me. With that being said I will be taking the next step in my recruiting process. TOP 5 pic.twitter.com/eDYEy1UR74
— Jayden Jackson (@JaydenJackson65) May 3, 2023
Miami has done well recruiting Polynesian players and has coaches familiar with the culture. Ohio State was a dream school for Jackson growing up, and Texas’ coaching staff has made strong connections with him. Oklahoma is the one program he hasn’t visited, but that should change soon.
The plan is for Jackson to set up official visits with each program over the coming week and take them all over the summer. He wants to make his commitment in the summer, so this is the final stretch of his recruitment.
Jackson is a consensus three-star recruit, ranked No. 656 overall in the class of 2024 by 247Sports. He’s at No. 62 among defensive linemen in the class and No. 97 among recruits in the state of Florida.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1368]
[mm-video type=video id=01gz591pdh0pc5ff0qrc playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gz591pdh0pc5ff0qrc/01gz591pdh0pc5ff0qrc-2405793ca1ac6b563e18ee86d305a820.jpg]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.