BREAKING NEWS: Gators land Ja'Keem Jackson

What has long been anticipated as a potentially big weekend gets kicked off on this Thursday night as Ja'Keem Jackson has just made his intentions public to join Coach Napier and the #D23AMTEAM for the 2023 class. Jackson has had the Gators out front for a while now, but just because there hasn't been a lot of suspense to this one don't let that fool you on the ability level of this young man.

Jackson is ranked by 247 sports as the 168th player in the nation, regardless of position. This ranking is one that has exploded over the past two months moving up over 200 spots. At 6-foot-1 180 pounds Jackson is long and lean, which is exactly what you are looking for in someone joining your secondary. Speed is another area where he is not lacking as he has clocked verified times of 4.5 40 yard dash and 10.90 100 meter dash. The defensive side of the ball is actually a relatively new one to him, as he played receiver at Osceola as well. Look for his technique and skill to continue to improve even more as he heads into his senior season and then arrives in Gainesville with a focus on the defensive side of the ball.

Junior Season Highlights for Ja'Keem Jackson

Coach Corey Raymond is one we all knew from the moment he stepped on campus would have a huge impact. Players want to be coached by the best. It's that simple really. Look for Jackson, along side now Sharif Denson and Aaron Gates, to continue to put their recruiting hats on to keep adding to this secondary all the way up until Signing Day.

When Coach Napier was hired something he said was that he wanted to keep players in state. That the Gators were going to recruit the "footprint." Well, with this addition the Gators now have 13 commits, with 11 of them coming from the state of Florida, with the other two just being in Georgia. I know there have been some misses. But with this addition we now have a 247composite score of 211.37, which is good for 16th in the nation and PLENTY of room to continue on an upward trajectory this weekend.

Jackson is the first of the weekend, but don't think for a second that he's the last.