Rivals250 CB focused on senior season

The recruiting process has moved at a fast pace for Donte Jackson. During the spring and summer months he saw his offer list grow and grow as he continued to progress and show his abilities more and more at the cornerback position.

During the summer the Rivals250 standout named a top five of Georgia, LSU, Oregon, Texas A&M, and Florida State with Georgia at the top. The Bulldogs were closely followed by LSU, and Ole Miss, Texas Tech, and UCLA were a few schools he mentioned outside of his top five who could make a run into his top five.

As the season approaches, Jackson has taken a step back.

"I don't even know," Jackson said. "I try not to really think about it because getting prepared for my senior year has pretty much taking all of my time unless its sleep. I haven't had anytime to really think about anything like that."

He claims no top five, no top 10, and as he puts it "no nothing." That said, he does have a few games he hopes to attend during the fall.

"I'm not even sure yet," Jackson said. "I know I want to hit the LSU/Bama game. I want to Clemson/Georgia game. I want to see probably the Auburn/Georgia game. There's a lot of games I want to see if I can make."

During the summer he was able to take visits to LSU, Georgia, and Texas A&M, and each experience was positive and productive.

At LSU, he participated in the camp and worked alongside several close friends.

"It was fun. I had a lot of my homies out there with me at the camp - Xavier Lewis, Kevin Toliver, Tyron Johnson, DeShawn Raymond," Jackson said. "That's some of the dudes I'm always talking to and always with. It was pretty much like we were all hanging out and competing a little so coach Miles could see us all compete. It was good. It was a fun experience."

The trip to College Station gave him an opportunity to see the stadium and locker room as well as get to know the coaches.

"It was good. It was a good productive trip," Jackson said. "I got to see a lot and I got to talk to coach Sumlin for a little while. I got to see the campus and see the facilities and hear exactly what they had to offer me as a player and as a student. I actually took most of my family with me on the visit so it was fun."

His stop in Athens allowed him spend quality time around the people involved in the Georgia program.

"The Georgia visit would probably have to be one of my most fun visits with the Georgia and LSU visit. But the Georgia visit had to be one of the most fun visits this summer," Jackson said. "I got the chance to spend three days out there. So I got a chance to hang with a lot of the players.

"I was there for the first day of camp so I got a chance to watch some of the younger guys compete and some of the guys who are still trying to earn their offer get out there and compete. I got a chance to see coach Pruitt coach and see how interactive he is. I got a chance to talk with coach Richt a lot. I talked to coach Richt's wife, daughter, and son-in-law. I talked to coach Pruitt's wife. Coach B-Mac, I got a chance to chill with him. I was with the players a lot and they were all real cool. It was kind of like I was already part of the team. They treated me well. It was just a good productive trip. It was real cool."

Since the start of high school football practices, Jackson has turned his attention towards his team.

"It's kind like you could say I flipped a switch and went into season mode and started thinking about my team. The summer is pretty much about you. You have to do your visits. You have to do this and be there and be there, and I've really flipped that switch and started getting back to where I'm about my team and seeing how far I can take them this year."

Jackson will work at safety, cornerback, quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and as a return specialist. Practice is going well, and Jackson and his teammates have big goals for 2014.

"Our main goal is really just to compete," Jackson said. "Compete for the playoffs and try to win district."

In 2013 Jackson rushed 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, and had 400 yards receiving with another 6 touchdowns in only 5 games on the offensive side of the ball. He also recorded 42 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 interceptions, 8 pass break-ups, and 1 touchdown on defense. H was rarely kicked to, but he did have 4 kickoff retrns for touchdowns.

Jackson is currently ranked No. 190 in the Rivals250, No. 21 among the nation's cornerbacks, and No. 11 in the Rivals.com Louisiana Preseason Top 50.