6-11 offensive tackle Jahjarre Jackson has committed to Georgia

Georgia made an intriguing late addition to its 2024 signing class on Monday with a commitment from former elite basketball recruit Jahjarre Jackson, a 6-foot-11 offensive tackle who now stands among the tallest players in college football.

Jackson, who spent the past three years playing basketball with the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite program, announced his commitment to Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs on Monday morning, quickly choosing Georgia over Florida, Florida State, Mississippi State and Arkansas. – Fire recruitment. Jackson, 20, will count toward the Bulldogs’ class of 2024 and is already on campus with plans to enroll at Georgia next month.

Locked into the NBA draft process months ago, Jackson heads to Athens as one of college football’s physical anomalies, preparing to join a national championship-caliber program with a coaching staff he says has paved a clear path toward future playing time.

“This year, my plan is to come in there and buy into their scheme and learn their scheme and just develop and get better fundamentally,” Jackson told ESPN. “They want me to come in my first year and be able to play maybe 20-30 snaps for the season. After that, they think I have the potential to come in my second year and be the starter.”

Jackson said he arrived at Georgia measuring 6-foot-11, 340 pounds, instantly asserting himself as one of the tallest players in recent college football memory.

According to ESPN Stats & Data Research, Jackson will be the fourth Division I football player listed since 2017 at 6-foot-11 and second among active players, joining Jacksonville State offensive lineman Tom Hadary. According to data from Pro Football Reference, the NFL Scouting Combine has hosted just two players taller than 6-foot-9 since 2000 — former Georgia offensive lineman Dennis Rowland and current Detroit Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper.

Growing up in San Diego, Jackson’s first sport was football, and by the end of middle school he held multiple Division I football offers. But as Jackson sprouted to his 6-foot-11 height, his athletic path led away from the football field to a future on the basketball court.

As recently as May, Jackson had his sights set on a career in basketball.

A one-time AAU teammate of Bronnie James, Jackson spent his first two years of high school at IMG Academy in Florida before moving on to Overtime Elite. Jackson won a championship in each of his three seasons and averaged 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in his final season with the program, while his contemporaries included Sarr, 2024 lottery pick Rob Dillingham and Tyler Smith, the No. 33 overall pick. NBA draft of the year.

When Jackson entered the NBA draft this spring, talent evaluators projected him as a late second-round selection that could go undrafted. While Jackson was mulling the G League and other opportunities overseas, football — a sport he hadn’t played competitively since middle school — came back into focus, paving the way for June’s Cyclone recruiting.

“It was making the right decision at the end of the day and evaluating all the opportunities I had on the table,” Jackson said. “I had to figure out what I was going to do. Where I was going to start. Where I was going to start this transition. Then I got to work.”

Jackson drew interest throughout the Power 4 as a late-cycle recruit. He visited Florida, Florida State and Mississippi State in June before closing with Georgia, where Jackson felt a fit among his future teammates, found a connection with the coaching staff and discovered. An atmosphere reminiscent of the one he knew at Overtime Elite.

“It felt familiar coming from a pro atmosphere,” Jackson said. “I felt like this was a place I could see myself being a part of and a place I could contribute. Coach Smart doesn’t do anything for them. It got me.”

This fall will be seen as Jackson’s development window as one of six offensive linemen in the program’s class of 2024. In 2 years, he plans to compete for starting snaps on the Bulldogs’ offensive line with at least one eye on NFL Draft eligibility. End of 2025 season.

Meanwhile, Jackson emerged as one of the sport’s most intriguing recruiting stories as Georgia and one of its most intriguing physical prospects after trading the hardwood for turf.

“I got to come back to the sport that started it for me in my athletic career,” Jackson said. “It’s been a great experience and I’m nothing but grateful.”