Jackson talks about visit to Cal

Long Beach Poly (Calif.) wide out Desean Jackson took his second official visit of the year to Cal this past weekend. The talented wide out said he plans to take at least two more visits before it will be decision time.

“They really treated me well out there,” Jackson said. “We played Friday night so I flew out early Saturday morning. I got there in time to hang out in the coaches office before the game with Stanford and then walked out on to the field before kickoff. It was a pretty crazy atmosphere, I mean, rivalry games are like that but the crowd was just insane.

“I was sitting in the student section for the first quarter but it was just too wild so a few of us went down and watch the rest of the half in the coaches’ office. I went back out there in the second half and the crowd was a little more reserved since they were blowing Stanford out so that was cool.

“After the game, we were on the field and it was cool seeing how excited all the players were. Some of them had roses signifying they were going to the Rose Bowl and it was just a real cool atmosphere. Geoff McArthur was my host so later that night, we went out along with Robert Jordan to some of the cool hot spots there.

“I had met those guys from back in the summer and it was cool to see them again. Berkeley is definitely a different place than Los Angeles. The people just look and act different but it was cool. They’re a little more laid back there and everyone just kind of does their own thing. They don’t care what anyone really thinks and I’m cool with that.

“Sunday, I got a tour of the campus and talked to everyone there, I mean everyone. I met the athletic director, the chancellor, the baseball coaches and of course all the football coaches. Cal really has things going in a positive direction right now. Everyone I talked with said they’re committed to winning there and will do whatever it takes to keep Coach Tedford at Cal.

“Coach Tedford told me straight up he’s not going anywhere and the athletic director said they’re going to take good care of him and will do what it takes like fixing the stadium or anything else. Cal loses a lot of receivers so we talked a lot about what my role would be and how I could come in and play right away next season.

“The baseball coaches told me the same thing. They said they’re willing to work with Coach Tedford and will allow me to miss time for spring football if I need to. Cal signed some pretty good baseball players, some guys that played on my Area Code team like Charlie Cutler who was actually up at Cal this weekend too and we talked about how if I went there, we could help turn the program around.

“Overall, it was probably the best trip I’ve taken. LSU was great too, but I just did a lot more things at Cal because I was there longer. I stayed until Monday and then flew home. Right when I got home, around 5:00 or so, I just crashed on my bed, I was so exhausted. I had really had a great time though and Cal is still very high on my list along with LSU and USC still.

“I’m going to the SC- Notre Dame game this weekend but it’s not an official visit. I was going to make it an official but they want me to come in for my visit in December so they can spend more time with me. I’m also going to visit Oklahoma but I don’t have a trip date yet. I should have my decision by around Christmas but I’m probably going to hold off on announcing until the Army All-American game on January 15.”