Elite 2021 OT Donovan Jackson recaps his unofficial visit to Texas

The Texas Longhorns recently had an important guest on campus, as 2021 Bellaire Episcopal offensive tackle Donovan Jackson made an unofficial visit to Austin with his parents.

Throughout a recruiting cycle in which the state of Texas is quite top heavy along the offensive line, Jackson is regarded as one of the premier prospects in the trenches. Still only a sophomore, Jackson has earned the opportunity to be a part of this recruiting trail earlier than most are able to. He’s beginning to realize that it’ll come down to only one school at the end of the day.

“The recruiting process for me is starting to be less of a fantasy,” Jackson told BON. “I’m getting to the point where I have to rule out or say no to schools I don’t see myself going to.”

Jackson is already one of the more highly coveted players in his class with over 20 offers. He has already analyzed which programs he’s more keen to early in this process.

“At the moment I would say that Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Georgia, and Alabama are my front runners,” Jackson said.

Tom Herman made sure to put an offer on the table for Jackson in late August after he camped with the Horns in July and left a great impression on the staff. Jackson also made in in for his first Longhorns game when they defeated USC in mid-September, and he was “amazed” by that experience.

Over a week ago, Herman and offensive line coach, Herb Hand, made it a priority to get Jackson and his family on campus for a more personal visit. Jackson’s father told us that it was a wonderful overall meeting with Herman and there was a great deal of one-on-one time between his son and coach Hand.

“During my visit I learned more about what Texas has to offer after football which my parents appreciated,” Jackson said. “I mainly talked to coach Hand. Throughout the day he showed me that he’s passionate about his players. Coach Herman preached that he’s excited to recruit me for the next two years.”

Coach Hand looks to be the lead recruiter in trying to land the blue-chip prospect with his early efforts of impressing Jackson and making it evident that he’s a player that they’ll go to bat for. Because of that, Jackson plans on making more trips to Austin.

“I would say that Texas is recruiting me pretty hard because coach Hand said that he would recruit the “Tar” out of me,” Jackson said. “I’m definitely going to find my way to Austin sooner rather than later.”

The Longhorns have only put out a total of 26 offers to 2021 prospects around the country thus far. Eight of those prospects play offensive tackle and all but one reside in the Lone Star State. Jackson is poised to be the top guy out of that bunch, according to 247Sports.

At 6’3.5, 295 pounds, Jackson is ranked as the nation’s No. 22 prospect, the No. 3 offensive tackle in the country, and as the No. 2 player in the state for the 2021 class, per the 247Sports rankings.