Smart, UGA land 6-11 ex-basketball recruit as OT

• Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff WriterJul 8, 2024,

  05:50 PM ET Close

  Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He signed up with ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Georgia made an

interesting late addition to its 2024 signing class Monday with a dedication from former elite basketball recruit Jahzare Jackson, a 6-foot-11 offensive tackle who now stands amongst the highest players in college football.Jackson, who spent the previous 3 years playing basketball with the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite program, announced his commitment to Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs on Monday, opting for Georgia over Florida, Florida State, Mississippi State and Arkansas at the end of a rapid-fire recruitment. Jackson, 20, will count toward the Bulldogs ‘class of 2024 and he is currently on campus with plans to enlist next month.Entrenched in the NBA draft process simply months ago, Jackson heads for Athens as one of college football’s physical abnormalities, preparing to sign up with a nationwide championship-caliber program with a training staff he states has laid out a clear path toward future playing time.”This year, the strategy is for me to come in there and buy into their plan and discover their scheme and likewise just develop and improve essentially, “Jackson informed ESPN. “They want me to come in my first year and have the ability to play possibly 20-30 snaps for the season. After that, they believe I have the potential to come in my second year and be a starter.” Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Jackson stated he arrived at Georgia determining 6-11, 340 pounds, quickly asserting himself as one of tallest players in current college football.According to ESPN Statistics

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research, Jackson will be the 4th Department I football player listed at 6-11 because 2017 and the second among active players, joining Jacksonville State offensive lineman Tom Hadary. According to Pro Football Reference data, the NFL scouting combine has actually hosted only 2 players over 6-foot-9 because 2000– former Georgia offensive lineman Dennis Roland and current Detroit Lions offensive deal with Dan Skipper.Football was Jackson’s first sport maturing in San Diego, and he held multiple Department I football deals by the end of middle school. However as Jackson sprouted in height, his athletic path drifted from the football field toward a future on the basketball court.As just recently as May, Jackson’s sights remained on a profession in basketball.An one-time AAU colleague of Bronny James, Jackson invested the very first two years of high school at Florida’s IMG Academy before moving to Overtime Elite. He won a champion in each of his 3 seasons and balanced 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds

in his final season with the program, where his contemporaries included 2024 NBA lottery picks Alex Sarr and Rob Dillingham in addition to Tyler Smith, the No. 33 overall pick.When Jackson got in the NBA draft this spring, talent critics projected him as a possible late second-round selection most likely to go undrafted. While Jackson mulled other chances in the G League and overseas, football– a sport he hadn’t played competitively because intermediate school– went back to focus, leading the way for his whirlwind June recruitment.”It was just making the best decision at the end of the day and evaluating all chances that I had on the table,”Jackson stated.” I had to determine what I was going to do, where I was going to start from, where I was going to start in making this shift. Then I simply got to work.”Jackson’s recruitment drew interest from throughout the Power 4. He took June sees to Florida, Florida State and Mississippi State before closing out with Georgia, where he sensed a fit amongst his future colleagues, discovered a connection with the training personnel and found an environment similar to the one he knew at Overtime Elite.”It just felt familiar originating from a pro environment,”Jackson stated. “I felt like it was a place I could see myself being a part of and a location I might contribute. Coach Smart does not sugarcoat anything for them. That got me.”This fall will be viewed as a development window for Jackson, among six offending lineman in the program’s class of 2024. In Year 2, he prepares to contend for starting snaps on the Bulldogs’offensive line with a minimum of one eye on NFL draft eligibility at the end of the 2025 season.In the meantime, Jackson gets here as Georgia among the sport’s most remarkable recruiting stories and as one of its most interesting physical prospects.”I’m accepting being able to return to the sport that started it all for me in my athletic profession,”Jackson stated. “It’s been a great experience and I’m absolutely nothing however grateful.”