Butch Jones does not procrastinate.
Recently, I wrote something about the 2014 class, here, and one of my main points was that Jones and his staff do their work early. Tennessee secured 19 commitments for the 2014 class in the first seven months of the year. The ripple effect allowed the coaches to focus energy and resources on evaluating and securing talent for the 2015 cycle. Early bird gets the worm and all that.
Cause
↓ ↓ ↓
Effect
Thursday, Maryville High School standout Dylan Jackson committed to Tennessee as Butch Jones continues to make landing the state’s top players a priority. The 6-5, 240-pound defensive end became the seventh pledge in the 2015 class for the Volunteers. That’s more 2015 commitments than any school in the country not named Texas, which has eight (all eight of which are instate commitments). It’s more than recently-crowned National Champion Florida State. It’s more than perennial SEC recruiting powerhouses Alabama and LSU. You get the point. Jones is not dallying.
Though he’s a slender (using the term loosely) 240 right now, Jackson has the body to add more weight. The 3-star prospect could stay at defensive end, bulk up and slide inside to defensive tackle or move to the offensive line. He looks agile enough to execute Don Mahoney’s zone blocking scheme, which relies on lineman with quick feet that can get off initial blocks and advance to the second level.
“Jackson’s the type of guy that has only begun to scratch the surface of his potential and that’s exactly what you’re looking for when you take a guy this early in the process. He’s a long, lean defensive end at this point in his development who will likely continue to add muscle to his frame, which should afford him the luxury to play either on the offensive or defensive side of the ball.
“He comes from a traditional powerhouse program so you know he’s going to work hard and come to campus prepared to continue doing the same thing. It will be curious to watch his development over the next 12 months and see if he stays on defense full-time or gives offensive line a shot. Either way he has the raw physical tools you’re looking for.”
–Woody Womack, Rivals Southeast Recruiting Analyst
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
As a junior, Jackson had 56 tackles, four tackles for loss and one sack, according to an article from The Daily Times posted in Jackson’s player thread on Volnation.com. A couple quotes from that article:
“Dylan is a team guy. All he cares about is that we do well.”
“Dylan stays after. He comes before. He does all the stuff that great players do.”
— Maryville Head Coach George Quarles
“He is one of our smartest players. He reads screens well and knocks down a bunch of passes.”
“He is leading the way. He studies film. He plays hard. He’s always wanting to try to find something that can help him play better, whether it is keying on what the other team is doing or if it is watching his guy all week that’s going to block him, to know how he is going to react to him.”
— Maryville defensive coordinator Jim Gaylor
As signing day 2014 draws near, 19 days and counting, the Vols have already filled nearly one-third of their likely spots for the 2015 class. That leaves about 380 days to fill it out and get a jump on 2016. I’d expect the trend of early commitments to continue as Jones has returned an air of exclusivity to the Tennessee football program.
Check out Jackson’s Hudl film here.
FORUM THREAD: ’15 TN DE Dylan Jackson[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]