Key Texas target Ja’Quinden Jackson sets commitment date

Between the Bru McCoy saga and the Horns missing the final cut for the nation’s top-ranked prospect in Houston North Shore’s Zachary Evans, this week has been a rollercoaster for those close to the Texas Longhorns football program. That said, is some positive news on the way for Tom Herman and his staff?

Friday morning, some unexpected news dropped from one of the nation’s very best prospects when Duncanville standout Ja’Quinden Jackson took to Twitter to announce that he will be making his commitment Monday, June 3.

The four-star recruit, who could be labeled as a dual-threat quarterback or an athlete, has earned 26 offers from programs including Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, TCU, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, and of course, the Longhorns. Jackson never released a top list of school’s or publicly narrowed down the programs he’d most closely focus on, but a little over two months ago, Jackson told BON that LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State were schools standing out the most.

Jackson’s held a Longhorns offer for more than a year ago and has maintained a strong relationship with the staff, primarily with wide receivers assistant Rashaad Samples. Samples is the son of Duncanville’s head football coach, Reginald Samples, who is, of course, Jackson’s coach.

So the connection is certainly there. Samples has been instrumental in recruiting Jackson and the two have an outstanding relationship.

Jackson is familiar with the Forty Acres, as he’s made multiple visits down to Austin with his latest being in the middle of March. He likes what Texas has to offer and especially what they’re building.

“They’re program, they have a good program,” Jackson said. “ It’s a lot of fun down there. They had a great previous year, they beat Georgia.”

While Texas is recruiting him at quarterback, the 6’2, 219-pound Jackson could potentially develop into a playmaker on the defensive side of the ball; possibly at linebacker or safety. The electric Duncanville product has proven to be a dynamic player with the ball in his hands throughout his high school years and he wants to continue his dominance at quarterback at the next level.

“I’ve played nothing but quarterback since I’ve been in high school, so it’s no point in trying to change my position now,” Jackson expressed months ago. Last season, Jackson completed 110-of-173 attempts for 1,580 yards and 15 touchdowns, along with three interceptions, and added another 1,497 yards and 23 touchdowns on 147 rushing attempts.

The Longhorns currently hold all four Crystal Ball predictions for the nation’s No. 48 overall prospect and No. 4 athlete, per the 247Sports Composite.