Briarcrest star LB makes early commitment to Ole Miss

First, Jackson is only a junior.

Second, he missed the last half of the Saints' season with torn ligaments in his right knee.

But after taking two weeks to think about the surprise offer, Jackson called the Rebels back and accepted.

"I was completely shocked," said Jackson, a 6-foot-2, 230-pounder who registered 62 tackles and five sacks in six games before missing the Saints' Division 2-AA title run. "I wasn't expecting that at all.

"I like Coach (Ed) Orgeron because he's so passionate about the game and he's a defensive guy ... I'm still gonna visit some other schools to see what they have to offer, but it's a pretty firm commitment."

Ole Miss is establishing quite a football pipeline at Briarcrest.

Two weeks ago, the Rebels received signed letters of intent from star Saints offensive lineman Michael Oher, whose legal guardian is former Ole Miss point guard Sean Tuohy, and placekicker Justin Sparks.

Also, Briarcrest coach Hugh Freeze was named Wednesday by Ole Miss as assistant athletics director for football external affairs.

Now, Ole Miss has scored again, landing a player certain to be rated among the state's best in the class of 2006.

"It doesn't take long to watch him on film and see he's a Division 1 linebacker," Freeze said.

Jackson, a native of Centerville, Ohio, came to Briarcrest prior to his sophomore year.

Jackson said his friendship with Oher, the prospect of Freeze landing in Oxford and the campus's proximity to home increased the attraction.

"Me and Michael are pretty close," Jackson said, adding that if Freeze is hired by the Rebels, "it would be nice having somebody like that down there."

Freez has declined to comment on his ongoing discussions with the Rebels.

"There's been a lot of excitement around our school for Ole Miss," Freeze said. "Some people may look at that the wrong way, but that's the way it is."

Jackson said he had also been contacted this month by LSU and Tennessee about making visits, but for now he only has eyes for Ole Miss.

"I thought about (Ole Miss' s offer) for a while," Jackson said, "and I'm ready to go with it."