Iowa wins battle for Detroit OL Alaric Jackson
Iowa secured a signature Wednesday morning from the key prospect the Hawkeyes coveted for their final scholarship spot.
Alaric Jackson, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound offensive tackle from Detroit Renaissance High School, announced he’ll join the Hawkeyes. He picked Iowa two days after delaying his announcement in the wake of Michigan’s late scholarship offer. Jackson also considered Iowa State and Nebraska and held Big Ten offers from Michigan State, Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers.
“They were pretty straightforward with me, honest, they’ve been around for a long time and they’re very loyal,” Jackson said in a video interview with Rivals.com. “I have two friends committed there — Chauncey Golston and Cedrick Lattimore — friends since I was 5 years old. I love those guys.”
Jackson, ranked by Rivals.com and Scout.com as a three-star prospect, gives Iowa’s 2016 class a third offensive line prospect to go with in-state linemen Spencer Williams and Cole Banwart.
“I think has as much upside as almost anybody in this class,” Scout.com analyst Allen Trieu said. “He only played football on the varsity level for two years. He was a basketball player before that and decided to come back out and play football and picked it up very quickly. Obviously, he’s a very athletic kid if you can play basketball at that size.
“He’s a kid with a ton of potential, and I think Iowa is going to develop him really well.”