Pitt 2019 Junior Targets
Blue-Chip Georgia Linebacker Nick Jackson Gets Pitt Offer
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The Pitt football program continues to try and make a recruiting impact in Georgia by offering one of the top athletes in the state.
Nick Jackson is a 2019 recruit from Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia and yesterday received his 27th offer from the Pitt Panthers.
Along with Pitt, Jackson also holds offers from Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Colorado, Minnesota, NC State, Rutgers, Syracuse and Virginia.
This afternoon when I had the chance to talk with Jackson, I learned that he already has a couple of connections with the Pitt football program and that he’s a young man that has a great head on his shoulders and has his priorities in place.
When Jackson got the news from Pitt yesterday, he came from a familiar voice.
Courtesy of Nick Jackson
“I got the offer from Coach Collins who just came in from Central Michigan. Back in October or November, I received my first offer from Central Michigan and it actually came from Coach Collins so we’ve actually had a relationship prior to the phone call yesterday. So when he offered me, it was pretty cool,” said Jackson.
Since he’s familiar with him already, I asked Jackson his impression of the Panthers new secondary coach.
“I love him, he’s just a real guy. He cares about me, asks me about how things are going for me in school, in recruiting and in life.”
With so many offers, Jackson tells me that he’d like to narrow it down from 27 schools to a manageable number. Without question, whatever schools make his cut, they’ll have to excel in one thing: academics.
“Academics will be the top priority for me. I realize that if I’m lucky, I’ll be playing football till 22 or 23 and I know that there’s so much life after I’m done playing football. I need a place that I’ll get a good degree and a place that will help me be successful after I’m done playing football,” said Jackson.
At this point, Jackson is still trying to figure out what he plans on majoring in at whatever schools he selects. Right now, he’s considering communication, business or something in the field of science.
Aside from academics, I asked Jackson what other factor will be key in his future decision.
“Academics will be a big bulk of my decision but relationships will also be key. I’ll need a have a great relationship with the coaches and the players. I want to have a relationship with the coaches that they’ll get after me on the field but a loving relationship off the field.”
To get offered by this many schools, Jackson is obviously a talented player on the field, so I asked him what the coaches are telling him stands out on his film.
“A lot of the coaches like my versatility. They believe that in college, I can play at a number of different positions. I have some offers at inside linebacker, some at outside linebacker, some at safety and actually some at wide receiver. Many schools believe that I can be moved around and have many different roles on defense. I study a lot of film and put myself in the right places on the field because of film study. I actually really enjoy watching film.”
“I just love playing football and the position really doesn’t matter to me,” said Jackson.
Aside from their academic reputation and Coach Archie Collins, Pitt has another thing going in their favor when it comes to Jackson.
“Pitt is actually where my defensive coordinator George Pribish went to college and played for a couple of years. He’s taught me everything I know on the defensive side of the ball. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Pitt and I hope to get up there soon.”
