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Five-Star Spotlight: Domani Jackson

Domani Jackson
Domani Jackson (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

Only a handful of the nation's best high school football players finish the cycle with five-star rankings. As Rivals.com begins to evaluate the top talent in the class of 2022, the national analyst team has selected 10 rising juniors to debut as five-star prospects.

Today's five-star spotlight is on Mater Dei (Calif.) cornerback Domani Jackson.

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CLASS OF 2022 TOP 100: Monday's release | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday

FIVE-STAR SPOTLIGHT: Denver Harris | Julian Armella | Luther Burden | Jaheim Singletary | Walter Nolen | Kam Dewberry | Shawn Murphy | Travis Shaw | Tyre West

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

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PROGRAMS TO WATCH  

Jackson’s recruitment starts with USC – and it might end there. But many other programs are still very much involved, and should continue to be in the coming years. The five-star cornerback has an excellent relationship with new Trojans position coach Donte Williams, and playing in front of a home crowd could be a big selling point. Jackson will closely watch the coaching situation with the Trojans over the next couple seasons.

But USC is not a lock to land Jackson as Arizona State is becoming a big player, especially with defensive backs coach Chris Hawkins now on staff. The big players nationally are also very much involved, with Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Michigan topping the list.

Jackson had planned to attend Alabama’s spring game to get a real feel for Tuscaloosa and the Crimson Tide coaching staff, but that will no longer happen with the coronavirus travel ban.

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ANALYST'S TAKE

Jackson is the true definition of a lockdown cornerback, someone who is aggressive and physical at the line of scrimmage, loves to muscle up receivers and make it tough on them early in the route. Then he’s fearless going after the ball and making life miserable for offenses on every play. The five-star was one of the top defensive backs, along with four-star Jaylin Davies, on a loaded Mater Dei team last season as a sophomore, and he’s only going to take a bigger leadership role heading into his junior year.

He is like a leaner version of Su’a Cravens at the same stage, even though they play different positions. Jackson has great anticipation like Cravens, he carries himself with supreme confidence and he’s always around the ball, much like the five-star from the 2013 class.

Jackson plays cornerback, but it would not surprise anyone if he grew into a safety over the long term because he’s muscled up and has such a physical presence playing the game.

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NEWS AND NOTES

Jackson now plays at powerhouse Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, but he has not always lived in Southern California – far from it. The five-star defensive back grew up in Niles, Ohio, where he still has a lot of family in the Youngstown area. Then he moved to State College, Pa., then to Hawaii, and then to California at age 11.

In an early interview with Rivals following his freshman season, Jackson said Michigan was his dream school growing up in the Midwest, and Ohio State was also high on the list. He said his family would love for him to play for the Buckeyes. He had more than 20 offers by the end of his freshman year.

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