Are Gators still on Jacksons list

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The news for weeks to come concerning football recruiting and the University of Florida is going to be focused around what recruits are still looking at becoming a Gator and the recruits who are going to pass on that notion if no new head coach is named soon. Houston (Texas) Westside athlete R.J. Jackson is one of the many athletes placed in this scenario.

Jackson, who has been recruited heavily by UF since the spring, learned of Ron Zook’s dismissal late Monday night

“It is shocking,” Jackson said. “It is kind of crazy because you go in and one person is recruiting you, then he leaves and that is when everything kind of changes.”

However, despite the bad news coming out of Gainesville, one facet that did not change was the Gators placement on Jackson’s list of schools.

“They were very high on my list and they still are, so pretty much nothing has changed,” he said. “They have a good tradition, and I was looking at them like I could have come in and made an impact.”

UF running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Mike Locksley laid the foundation and had been persistently recruiting Jackson for some time. If the new head coach were to pursue Jackson and ultimately sign him, he would owe a lot of credit to Locksley, if the second year UF coach did not retain his position on the staff.

“They were recruiting me real hard,” Jackson said. “Coach Locksley is a real cool dude. Me and him are real tight. He is someone you can talk to and it is not always about football. As a recruit you can appreciate that because sometimes you just try and get away from it. You don’t want to come home every night and deal with questions about football. I just have to see who they are going to bring in.”

Jackson had an official visit scheduled to UF for Jan. 7, and in his eyes he still has an official visit scheduled to UF. However, it isn’t the coaching change that is going to change the date of the visit.

“It might have to change because I got accepted to the (U.S. Army) All-American game,” Jackson said. “So the weekend I am supposed to go to Florida, right when I come back I have to go to San Antonio, so I don’t know how it is going to work out.”

Jackson’s only other scheduled official visit was to Oklahoma State, but that as well had to be rescheduled.

“I had an Oklahoma State visit scheduled, but they changed the time of the game and they moved it to earlier that day, so we wouldn’t be able to catch any flight after my game to get there,” he said.

The other schools Jackson is still considering at this time besides UF and Oklahoma State are Southern Cal, Utah, Syracuse, LSU and Georgia.

Rivals.com rates Jackson a four-star recruit and also has him as the No. 16 ranked athlete in the country. In Westside’s 68-3 romp over Houston Chavez last Saturday, Jackson’s versatility was on display as he turned in arguably his best performance of the year. He ran the ball three times for 150 yards and three touchdowns. His touchdown runs were of 11, 64 and 69 yards. Then on defense, Jackson intercepted two passes.

“I am tabbed as an athlete, but most people are recruiting me as a running back,” Jackson said.

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