With more than a year left before the Buckeye recruiting class of 2021 plays their first game, it seems there have only been a few days between huge signings lately. Another top offensive lineman commits to the Buckeyes. (OL) Donovan Jackson made his verbal commitment to Ohio State public on Wednesday, January 8, 2020.
Jackson is ranked in the top ten of all offensive linemen nationally and a top ten overall player in the talent-heavy state of Texas. He currently attends Episcopal High School in Houston, Texas. He won the MVP at the opening’ over the summer and has been highly coveted by the OSU recruiting campaign.
Who Recruited Donovan Jackson
Offensive Line Coach Greg Studrawa built a strong relationship with Donovan leading up to his commitment. Donovan mentioned that they often joke but “Coach Stud” is serious with him when he needs to be.
The improvements the Buckeyes have made in their offensive line recruiting have been tremendous over the past few years. The success of running backs like J.K. Dobbins and what recent linemen units have been able to accomplish has made the program very attractive to the best big men coming out of high school.
The prime-time recruit has been offered by 29 FBS schools. In addition to his official visit to Ohio State this past April, Jackson also made visits to Texas and Texas A&M in March of 2019. Although this was a big decision for him, he stated that he learned everything about Ohio State he needed to, in order to make the correct choice. He did not want to go into his senior year of high school without making the commitment first.
Other schools that made offers include, Alabama, Baylor, Florida, Georgia, Houston, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin. Jackson’s family has Ohio roots as his parents met at the University of Miami Ohio and his grandmother currently lives in Cincinnati.
Why Donovan Jackson Picked Ohio State
Donovan Jackson has also formed a great relationship with Ben Christman during this period, another highly recruited O-lineman from the state of Ohio. The two of them plan to continually work together to bring on some of the remaining elite linemen OSU is targeting in the class of 2021.
What brought Donovan Jackson to commit now? The Penn State game this past season played a huge role. Donovan understood how much was riding on the game and seeing the team’s performance was inspiring. The terms trust’ and brotherhood’ he heard mentioned while on campus resonated with him as well.
What Jackson Brings to OSU
Buckeye fans, Get excited. This young man is a 6’4” 295 lb beast who drives defenders into the ground once he gets his hands on them. He plays with a mean and nasty attitude between the whistles and is respectful and articulate off the field.
Coach Studrawa (OL) has shown outstanding progression in landing more and more elite o-line talent with every recruiting class. The philosophy seems to be position-less recruiting. OSU is now successful at recruiting the biggest, most intelligent and athletic big men, getting them on campus, and seeing where the pieces fit best in the unit.
Ohio States 2021 Class
This signing is major. Jackson along with Christman can potentially aid the commitments from the other top linemen recruits OSU is leading with like JC Latham (Bradenton, FL), Tristan Leigh (Fairfax, VA), and Jager Burton (Lexington, KY).
At this pace, Ohio State football could end up with 5 or 6 guys who are potential top 100 players, on one offensive line! Congratulations to Donovan Jackson, his family, and the Ohio State fans.