Tag: Ian Jackson

Top-ranked 2024 prospect ‘likely’ to visit North Carolina

Ian Jackson, the top-ranked 2024 prospect, is ‘likely’ to visit North Carolina among a few other programs, according to a report.

The UNC basketball program continues to be a team fighting it out for some of the top talent in the country during this recruiting cycle. And, that should be the same memo with one of the best players in the country regardless of class.

2024 five-star shooting guard [autotag]Ian Jackson[/autotag] is in the middle of planning out some of his junior year official visits and the Tar Heels are expected to receive a visit.

According to Rivals national analyst Travis Graf, Jackson is most likely to visit four schools at the moment.

The schools named were Kentucky, Oregon, North Carolina, UCLA, Kansas and Duke. Things could change, but as of now, it looks like the most likely four to get visits will be Kentucky, Oregon, North Carolina and UCLA, which would mean Kansas and Duke would be fighting to be that fifth and final destination.”

Jackson is the No. 1 ranked player in the Rivals rankings for the class of 2024. Jackson is a 6-foot-6 shooting guard who plays for Cardinal Hayes (NY) and New York Wiz Kids on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit.

Jackson is just one of a few players in the 2024 class that hold an offer from North Carolina.

While Jackson is currently in the 2024 class, reclassification has been a topic of discussion with the talented wing. While a decision about joining the 2023 class is a bit away, he did discuss that earlier this year.

“Yeah, that can be possible. I feel like I’d have a decision made by the end of my junior year, going into AAU. If I feel like I’m ready to reclass up and take the next step and go to college, I’ll make the decision then.”

North Carolina has just one committed player in the 2023 class after the de-commitment of No. 1 overall player GG Jackson. That commitment is from five-star combo guard Simeon Wilcher.

Regardless of class, Jackson is going to be a player that will make a big impact once he steps on a college campus.

While Kentucky has garnered most of the attention with Jackson up to this point, he has a long ways to go in his decision making process and once he gets on campus for official visits and has feedback on the programs he visits, it’s anyones guess as to who has a lead at the moment.

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UNC basketball offer ‘very big’ for 2024 five-star guard

Top-2 player in the class of 2024, Ian Jackson, talks about a ‘very big offer’ that he got from the UNC basketball program.

The UNC basketball program has been extremely selective when it comes extending offers to the class of 2024. As of now, only four players hold an offer from the Tar Heels.

Those three prospects are [autotag]Jarin Stevenson[/autotag], [autotag]Cam Scott[/autotag], [autotag]Tre Johnson[/autotag] and most recently [autotag]Ian Jackson[/autotag]. All three are top-30 players and all are five-stars.

The latest offer to Jackson was a ‘very big’ one for the New York native, according to On3.com.

“UNC, I want to get out there too. That was almost the same as Kentucky, really,” Jackson said of the UNC offer. “Just watching that team as I grew up, being a fan of Michael Jordan, and just knowing the history of the school and everything that comes with it, it’s very big for me.”

Jackson is a five-star prospect and consensus top-3 player in the class of 2024. He is ranked No. 2 in the 247Sports rankings and the On3 rankings. He is No. 3 in the Rivals rankings.

The 6-foot-5 guard was named to the U17 USA Basketball men’s national team that will compete in the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup in Málaga, Spain on July 2-10.

According to Joseph Tipton of On3.com, Jackson has three programs that he wants to visit: UNC, Kentucky and Oregon.

Jackson already holds additional offers from UConn, Kansas, UCLA, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Oklahoma State, Pitt, Kansas State and Nebraska.

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Hubert Davis offers 2024 five-star shooting guard

The UNC basketball program has offered a top recruit in the 2024 recruiting class on Friday, the third player to earn an offer.

Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program have a new target in the 2024 recruiting class. Five-star shooting guard [autotag]Ian Jackson[/autotag] became the third player in the class to earn an offer from North Carolina, joining Jarin Stevenson and Cam Scott.

The 6-foot-4 shooting guard earned his offer from Davis and the Tar Heels on Friday, and now he has a total of 10 offers in his recruitment. Jackson is drawing interest from several programs like UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, Kansas State, UCLA, UCONN, and Nebraska among others.

The Bronx, New York native currently plays at Cardinal Hayes High School and was contacted by the Tar Heels as the period opened up this past week.

Jackson is ranked No. 2 overall, the No. 1 shooting guard and No. 1 player in the state of New York per the 247Sports rankings.

As of now, UNC does not have a commitment in the 2024 class after landing two five-star prospects in 2023. But it’s still very early on in the cycle and getting more offers out is the first step.

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Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

BREAKING: Alabama lands commitment from 2021 4-star ILB

Four-star linebacker Kendrick Blackshire out of Duncanville (Tex.) has chosen to commit to the University of Alabama.

Alabama continued to gain significant momentum on the recruiting trail on Tuesday night with the commitment of four-star inside linebacker Kendrick Blackshire.

Multiple outlets broke the news as the Duncanville High School standout broke the news on his Instagram account. Among those break that news was Sam Spiegelman with Rivals.com.

What made the commitment more fun is that it came on the same day as the birth of Blackshire’s grandmother, which the 6-foot-2, 245-pound linebacker pointed out on Twitter earlier in the day.

Blackshire is an interesting addition for the Crimson Tide, as he’s the third off-ball linebacker commitment for the 2021 recruiting cycle — joining Deontae Lawson and Prattville’s Ian Jackson.

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Blackshire is rated as the No. 152 overall prospect, the No. 7 inside linebacker and the No. 26 player from the state of Texas.

Gabe Brooks, a recruiting analyst for 247Sports, had this to say when evaluating Blackshire’s high school tape:

A bulked-up specimen with virtually college-ready size at linebacker as a high school sophomore. Powerful lower body with impressive upper-body build. Has made plays as traditional inside linebacker, off the edge, and playing with a hand on the ground. Could provide personnel flexibility in college. Diagnoses quickly and closes fast in pursuit, especially relative to size. Productive with 180 tackles in freshman-sophomore seasons in Texas’ largest classification. Owns size and strength to play off blocks in the run game. Not asked to drop and cover too much, but gets good depth when needed. Has missed significant playing time because of injury. Missed junior season with ACL. Reliable tackler, but can improve breakdown ability and arriving power. Fairly agile laterally relative to size, but lower-body mass can cause some stiffness. Physical ceiling could be limited because of such advanced bulking early in development. Long-term positional home not cut and dried, but could potentially fit almost any linebacker variation. Among the top defensive prospects in Texas for the 2021 class. Possesses long-term NFL Draft potential.

Stay tuned for more recruiting updates from Roll Tide Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports College Wire sites!

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Breaking down Alabama’s 2021 commitments: OLB Ian Jackson

Four-star OLB Ian Jackson is the next man up on Roll Tide Wire’s list of breaking down Alabama’s 2021 recruiting class.

After a rocking start, the Alabama Crimson Tide is steadily climbing up the recruiting rankings for the 2021 class. As things stand, that class is 25th (No. 7 in the SEC) according to 247Sports and 28th (No. 8) according to Rivals.com.

With eight commitments, Roll Tide Wire decided to break those pledges down player-by-player for you. Next up on the list is outside linebacker Ian Jackson out of Prattville, Alabama.

Ian Jackson, Outside Linebacker

Height: 6-1 / Weight: 210

High School: Prattville High School, Prattville, Alabama

Ranking (247Sports com): 4-star / No. 234 overall / No. 15 OLB / No. 8 AL

Ranking (247Sports): 4-star / No. 200 overall / No. 13 OLB / No. 8 AL

Ranking (Rivals): 4-star / No. 248 overall / No. 13 ILB / No. 8 AL

Ranking (ESPN): 4-star / No. 263 overall / No. 25 OLB / No. 8 AL

Analysis: When looking at Ian Jackson physically, he doesn’t seem like he’d have a future as an in-the-box player in the SEC. But when watching him on tape, it’s clear why high profile programs such as LSU, Georgia, Auburn and Tennessee were after the Prattville product.

Jackson is a fluid and natural mover in space, and he seems comfortable in a variety of roles including on the edge of the line of scrimmage, as an off-ball linebacker lined up in the apex and more.

It’ll be interesting to see how his body, which currently sits at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, develops physically, as playing at 230-plus pounds would be ideal. He is one of those linebacker prospects who could emerge as a playmaker if put in a position to work around opposing blockers and not necessarily through them.

Expect early contributions on special teams once he arrives in Tuscaloosa in 2021, but also don’t be shocked if he earned some sort of specialty package role as well.

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BAMA BEAT: Alabama recruiting updates + Ian Jackson commitment (Ep. 334)

Clint Lamb and Brett Hudson discuss the current state of Alabama’s 2021 recruiting class, which has been growing over the last six weeks.

Clint Lamb and Brett Hudson discuss the current state of Alabama’s 2021 recruiting class, which has been growing steadily over the last six weeks. During the show, the news broke that four-star linebacker Ian Jackson had committed to the Crimson Tide, bringing the total number of commitments to six.

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BREAKING: Alabama lands commitment from 4-star in-state LB

The Alabama Crimson Tide landed a big-time linebacker commit on Thursday in four-star Ian Jackson out of Prattville (Ala.).

On Thursday, the Alabama Crimson Tide landed a commitment from four-star linebacker Ian Jackson out of Prattville (Ala.). The news was announced via Jackson’s Twitter account:

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Jackson is rated as the nation’s No. 235 overall prospects, No. 15 outside linebacker and No. 8 player in the state of Alabama.

Barton Simmons, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports, had this breakdown of Jackson:

While frame is unclear on film, intel suggests that Jackson has a modern second level linebacker frame with the ability to add 20 to 30 pounds at the college level. Could pass as a big safety but developmental upside could allow for future playing inside or outside linebacker. Good tackler in space. Anticipates well on the perimeter. Plays with continued effort and motor. Moving target for blockers. Primarily an East-West athlete but shows some ability to body up ball-carriers. Isn’t asked to play through the line of scrimmage or downhill very often. Could have issues against big bodies when they get hands on him. An off-the-ball uncovered linebacker that needs continued development physically but is likely a multi-year starter at a Power Five program with mid round NFL potential.

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4-star OLB from Alabama includes UGA in top-10

4-star OLB Ian Jackson from Alabama included Georgia football in his top-ten schools.

On Thursday, 4-star outside linebacker Ian Jackson released his top-ten schools.

In no specific order, Nebraska, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Tennessee, Louisville and Texas A&M were the schools that he announced as his finalists.

From Prattville, Alabama, Jackson ranks as the nation’s No. 309 overall player, No. 25 ranked OLB and the 10th ranked player in the state.

Kirby Smart knows he has his work cut-out for him with both home-state universities Alabama and Auburn being listed in his most recent post.

Prattville, which is smack-dab in the middle of Alabama, is only a one hour drive to Auburn and a 90 minute commute to Tuscaloosa. In comparison to Athens, it’s a 3.5 hour drive.

During his junior season for Prattville, Jackson tallied 91 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and six sacks.

 

 

Tennessee offers talented 2021 prospect from Alabama

Tennessee offers talented 2021 prospect from Alabama.

Jeremy Pruitt is looking to dip into his home state of Alabama for defensive talent, as the Vols offered 2021 outside linebacker Ian Jackson from Prattville High School, Jackson announced on his Twitter account Saturday.

Jackson is a 4-star prospect that rates as the No. 22 outside linebacker in the country on the 247Sports Composite, and the No. 10 player in the state of Alabama.

The offer came in after Jackson’s visit to Tennessee’s campus, as a part of the Vols’ Junior Day.

As a former defensive coordinator at Hoover High School, Pruitt is familiar with the high school programs throughout Alabama, and Prattville is one that consistently competes at a high level in class 7A.

Tennessee is only the second SEC program on the table for Jackson, joining Texas A&M.

Louisville, Memphis and West Virginia are among other schools with official offers.