Illinois Football: Drake Jackson is a priority for the Illini
The Illinois football team clearly wants to build this class of 2019 into something special.
The foundation for a talented, competitive, team is already being formed, and the class of 2019 would put this program back over the top. They already have a class with three top 1000 recruits and two of those commitments are in the top 90 in the nation.
Illinois isn’t finished with this class, though. They still have some work to do to finalize what could be one of the best classes since the early Ron Zook days. There is a bevy of players who are looking at the Illini program as a possible destination. One of the players who the Illinois coaching staff has made a priority is Drake Jackson.
Jackson is a 6-foot-4, 260-pound weak-side defensive end from Centennial High School in Corona, California. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 275 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 22 weak-side defensive end in the nation.
The recruitment of Jackson has been tough, but it looks like Illinois is in his top five. So far, he has scheduled three official visits. His first one was to Washington back on June 22. He then took his second one to Illinois this past weekend. He visited Champaign for a good Penn State game – for three quarters – and this was big for the program. He will then take an official visit to Arizona State this weekend. I also assume another official visit will be to USC, eventually, as well.
But, Illinois at least got one of Jackson’s five official visits. They aren’t done putting resources into this kid, though. Illinois defensive coordinator Hardy Nickerson traveled out to California to watch Jackson play in a Thursday night game. This is dedication and it shows me they want this kid to be in the Orange and Blue come 2019.
I want him to play for the Illini too. Jackson is a top 300 player and could potentially start immediately for this Illinois squad. He has all the skills and tools that I want to see in a defensive tackle. He would be a great pick up for this program.
It is nice to see Illinois in the running for some big-time players on the west coast. I have said this before and I will say it again, Nickerson and Austin Clark have done a great job recruiting the state of California. They are going to continue hitting that state hard. I just hope we can land Jackson and continue building that defensive line.