Terrell Jackson Pulls the Trigger

Oregon is on an incredible roll right now and is closing in on a possible top 10 national recruiting class for the first time in recent memory. A day after landing Concord (Calif.) De La Salle standouts Terrance Kelly and Willie Glasper, the Ducks struck again picking up a commitment from elite running back Terrell Jackson.

"I'm very excited about my decision," Jackson said. "It came down to them and Arizona State but I just felt more comfortable at Oregon and feel it's a better opportunity for me there because they need running backs. They have like six or seven offensive lineman committed already and that was a big deal to me too. I'm going to be coming in with those guys and I think we're going to have a great recruiting class."

Jackson, 5-9, 185 pounds from Corona (Calif.) Centennial is our No. 2 rated running back in the West Coast and one of the best nationally as well. Jackson blew up as a junior after rushing for 2,344 yards and scored 50 total touchdowns to earn All-State and Student Sports Junior All-American honors. This past season, Jackson rushed for 2,664 yards and scored 43 more touchdowns to once again earn 1st team All-State honors.

Jackson was the MVP of the SoCal Nike Camp last summer where he looked great in the one on one drills and clocked a 4.46 in the 40, 4.14 in the shuttle, and jumped 31 inches in the vertical. He also had a strong week of practice during the CaliFlorida Bowl showing a nice burst through the hole and he ran with toughness and power all week long.

The decision came down to the Ducks and Arizona State and the talented runner seemed to go back and forth by the day. During the week of the CaliFlorida Bowl, Jackson was telling people he was leaning to Oregon. A week later, it was ASU. We thought the Sun Devils had the upper hand after Jackson took an unofficial visit in late December and brought his mother along with him. In the end, the Ducks were able to seal the deal in what is a huge pickup, not just because of Jackson's talent, but because running back might have been Oregon's biggest position of need in this year's recruiting class.

"ASU was great but Oregon just had more pluses in the end," Jackson said. "I really like the running backs coach, Coach Campbell, and the fact that I want to major in Sports Marketing, what better place than Oregon. I've always wanted to work for Nike and with Nike being right there, that was a huge plus for me. Once I thought real hard about it, I knew Oregon was the only place for me."