DE Jackson has growing offer list

It is undoubtedly a down year for talent in the state of Pennsylvania and that is having a big impact on the recruiting strategies of many colleges that rely on the state each year for much of their talent.

That lack of talent has led to some of the three-star prospects in the state, such as Branden Jackson, to receive perhaps even more attention than they otherwise might have. Of course, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive end from McKeesport has plenty of talent and that's the major reason for the fact that his offer list has grown by leaps and bounds in recent weeks.

Just a couple of months ago Jackson was a relative unknown as a recruit, but now he has burst onto the recruiting radar and sits on 13 scholarship offers.

Some of the schools that have offered Jackson recently are Texas Tech, Virginia, Purdue, Louisville, Rutgers, Iowa and NC State, and Jackson told Rivals.com that he has spoken to coaches from all of those schools.

Despite that, he hasn't been able to visit many colleges yet.

"The only thing I've done was a passing camp that my team went to," Jackson said.

Jackson is teammates with Delvon Simmons, another one of the state's top talents in the Class of 2011.

"We're going down to the Pitt camp as a team but other than that I'm not sure yet," he said.

"I'm not sure what else we'll do. I know I'm planning on taking all five official visits but that's not until at least next school year. I may take some unofficial visits to schools that aren't too far from home. If I do that I'll probably go with Delvon."