Roanoke ATH Jackson talks UVa, Mendenhall, recruiting, and more
North Cross ATH James Jackson is in what has become quite the familiar situation in the class of 2021. The versatile 6-foot-3, 208-pound prospect is working toward a decision that he wishes he could’ve made earlier. But instead of being able to take visits, he’s been stuck trying to go through the recruiting process in a different way.
And now, with a list cut coming sometime soon, it sounds like Jackson is making some good progress.
“My recruitment has been pretty crazy,” he told CavsCorner. “I was thinking about it a lot and just trying to keep working hard. My coaches kept telling me that this stuff was going to come. It was always a goal, it was always what I was working for. It was good getting it started but now that it’s been going, it’s a fun process but it’s also a lot of, not really stress but maybe activity is the right word. Always having to check my phone, always being ready to talk with coaches, stuff like that.”
In terms of position, there seems to be a pretty strong theme from coaches he’s heard from thus far.
“Outside linebacker, a hybrid linebacker, some inside,” he said. “Some schools in the beginning were recruiting me at receiver and I was like ‘I don’t plan on playing receiver in college’ because I plan on playing on the defensive side of the ball. Some schools have straight up asked me if I wanted them to recruit me on offense or defense and I’ve told them defense is what I want to play.”
Though he picked up his first offer in March thanks to Army, things got hectic in a hurry.
“With how my body kept changing and the work I was doing, I definitely thought I was good enough to play at that level,” Jackson explained. “The offers and interest, it wasn’t really a huge surprise for me but it was definitely cool. I had worked so hard for it, so that made it all the better. For a lot of people in my family, they didn’t really understand all of it. Like, even my mom I think didn’t really know all about it. She saw the offers I was getting and was like ‘Dang, I didn’t know it was like this. I didn’t know this was what you were doing.’ And I told her, yeah this is what I’ve been working so hard for.”
Despite not having been born here Jackson, who picked up his most recent offer from UVa a few weeks ago, has been in the Commonwealth long enough to understand the dynamics.
“So, I’m from Tampa but we moved up here to Pulaski, which is about an hour away from Roanoke, to live with my grandmother,” he said. “And when I switched high schools, I came to North Cross. I’ve been in Virginia since I was kid, like 12 years old or so.”
When the in-state Cavaliers came through with that offer, it surprised him.
“That’s one that came up kind of quick,” Jackson said. “I had talked to the coaches for a while and they had been kind of scattered for a while. Then it picked up real quick. I started talking to three or four coaches kind of a lot during the day. Then I got on the phone with Coach (Shane) Hunter and he offered me.”
It’s no surprise, given the way Hunter and Kelly Poppinga like to recruit their inside and outside backers (respectively), that Jackson is a kid who could see PT at both spots.
But the biggest thing about the Hoos is the amount of time he’s been able to spend around the program thanks to a camp last summer and a game last fall.
“I was at the Duke game last year,” he recalled. “I think the program they have, the coaches they have, it’s really tight knit and that’s what I feel from them. I went to their camp and that was like the best camp I went to. It was just going, man. They were serious and they had us focused, even in the warm up and everything. That’s what I see from them: A lot of discipline and focus. They talk to you about growing young football players into men and it’s about more than just the game.
“That’s what Coach (Bronco) Mendenhall preaches a lot and that’s what I saw from him at camp. It’s also in how he treats his coaching staff,” Jackson added. “They’re all happy, energetic guys and they all like him a lot. So that’s the feel I got there: It’s kind of like a family.”
As a kid who lives closer to Blacksburg than Charlottesville, UVa breaking the losing streak to the Hokies is something fans hope players like Jackson took note of last year. And he certainly did, but perhaps not for the reason some would think.
“I expected it to happen,” he said. “Watching the season, that’s how I thought it would go. I just felt like, the way the program’s going up and had been going all season, that was the way it was going to go. I think it was definitely good for the program and got them a lot more recognition from a lot of people. But I think it was definitely a win they should have gotten. I think it’ll still be a big rivalry but a streak like that? I don’t see that happening again.”
Jackson didn’t grow up with a favorite team, which in some ways helps him as he works through his recruitment.
“I like going to the games but I’ve probably been to less than five games in my life,” he said. “Football wasn’t really big for me until like the last year. I wasn’t even planning on playing football in college until like a year and a half ago. That wasn’t a real big goal of mine, so I hadn’t paid too much attention.”
So where do things go from here?
“I’m definitely in the process of cutting it down right now,” Jackson said. “I don’t really have a timeline for that right now. I don’t have an exact date or anything like that. But I’m definitely trying to get a feel for the schools, the coaches, and the place that feels right. This where I feel like it helps me that I’ve been talking to my coaches and my defensive coordinator and my head coach about the schools recruiting me. They’ve been a big help in my recruitment. I talk to the all the time.
“I’m talking to these coaches and doing these virtual tours but it’s really hurting me that I can’t do in-person visits and stuff like that,” he added. “That’s kind of holding me up and making my decision a little harder. I feel like if I had been able to take some in-person visits and I had been able to go places and get that feel, I feel like I would’ve been able to find the right place for me and I would’ve made a decision. But now, I kind of have to do more research and talk to more people, get on the phone with players and all that kind of stuff.”
As with so many in this cycle, he’s doing the best he can with the options he’s been given, which now means no visits until at least August if not later.
“Right now, I don’t have anything set up because of the dead period and everything,” he said. “So, if I can take a visit before I have to make a decision, that would be great. But I don’t know if that’s going to happen. I’m going to have to make a decision before I can do that.”
“Something like that,” Jackson added, when asked if he was thinking he’d decide before his senior season started. “If I feel right, for sure. I definitely think with how I’m cutting down on my list, I think I can probably do that.”
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