Elite 2021 OT Donovan Jackson includes Texas in top 12

Fresh off of winning MVP honors as the most dominant offensive lineman at The Opening Finals among 2020 prospects, 2021 Bellaire Episcopal offensive tackle Donovan Jackson has decided to trim down the amount of schools he’ll focus on throughout the remainder of his recruitment. With a total of 33 offers, Jackson has cut more than 20 programs that have called for his services out of the picture.

It’s now down to just 12 schools that have a chance at reeling in the phenomenal talent and the Texas Longhorns find themselves heavily in the mix, alongside Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.

Tom Herman and company made sure to put an offer on the table for Jackson in late August after he camped with the Horns in July and left an overall great impression on the staff. Jackson and his parents have made sure to make it up to the Forty Acres on multiple occasions, while offensive line coach, Herb Hand has made it clear to Jackson and his family that he will be a priority for the Horns during next years recruiting cycle.

Hand and Jackson’s relationship has developed a great deal over the past year and the education aspect that UT provides is evidently top-notch; those are prominent reasons why the Longhorns will have a chance at landing the premier tackle.

“My relationship with coach [Herb] Hand is amazing,” Jackson told Burnt Orange Nation. “It’s probably one of the best ones I have so I wasn’t really quite worried about getting down [to Texas] because I already know all the coaching staff.”

When asked where his interest in Texas lies, Jackson said, “Very high. I’m trying to go into sports management and the business school at Texas, the McCombs School of Business, is second to none.”

The four-star anchor has made his way around the country to many of the programs that reside in his top list and he’ll continue to take visits out-of-state as he heads into the fall. While distance is not an issue for Jackson’s family, with Austin being so close to the Houston area, it’s definitely a plus in his eyes.

At 6’4, 308 pounds, Jackson is the No. 34 player nationally and No. 7 offensive tackle in the 2021 cycle, per the 247Sports Composite.