Letter of intent No. 10: Offensive lineman Rico Jackson
The 10th letter of intent comes from three-star offensive lineman Rico Jackson of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard High.
Here is a full bio on Jackson.
Ratings
• Rivals.com: Three stars.
• 247Sports: Three stars, No. 253 overall player in Florida and No. 142 tackle nationally.
• ESPN: Three stars, No. 234 overall player in Florida and No. 99 tackle nationally.
Scouting Report From Dillard Coach Tyler Tate
Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard High coach Tyler Tate had his players do a bus tour through colleges last June.
Left tackle Rico Jackson was committed to Illinois at the time, but he was part of the tour, and stopped by NC State. The connection was made and the Wolfpack offered Jackson on June 19, and eventually he decommitted from the Fighting Illini on July 29.
When NC State lost the commitment of Watertown (Conn.) The Taft School left tackle Charlie Symonds five days before National Signing Day, the Wolfpack turned to Jackson. He scrambled and made it to NC State for an official visit Dec. 16-18, and publicly committed Dec. 21.
"They've been on his radar ever since that camp," Tate said. "They showed him all around campus. He has been high on them ever since that camp.
"The old O-Line coach [John Garrison] left [for Ole Miss], and when the new one [Garett Tujague] came, he called him right away. Once that spot opened up, Rico was at the top of their list of guys they wanted to get in."
Tate describes the Rivals.com three-star prospect as an "old soul" who is chill in a Tim Duncan kind of way. He also has shown a lot of potential on the offensive line for 7-4 Dillard.
"He's not a big talker, but very physical on the football field," Tate said. "He is very athletic for his size [6-foot-5 and 300 pounds]. He's also very smart. He's one of the players we had that could play all five positions. He knew the blocking schemes from left tackle to right tackle — pass and run plays."
Jackson had a high-profile matchup against future Miami Hurricanes defensive end Rueben Bain, who is ranked No. 102 overall in the country in the class of 2023 by Rivals.com. Miami Central and Bain won the game 43-7 on Sept. 24 — Bain was credited with two sacks — but Jackson performed well when matched up with him.
"He was very good and didn't give up any sacks or pressures," Tate said. "We kind of moved him along the line as they moved Rueben."
Tate wouldn't be surprised if Jackson ended up being an all-league player at NC State one day. He didn't have any other official visits this fall, and he'll be enrolling mid-semester.
"I think he was under the radar a bit," Tate said. "The biggest thing for him will be the strength and conditioning program. He'll get in there and build his body up."
— Jacey Zembal
Honors/Accomplishments
• Dillard coach Tyler Tate said Jackson was selected to the Broward County vs. Dade County all-star game.
Recruitment
Jackson had two recruitments, with the second one ending with him officially visiting NC State on Dec. 16-18 and picking the Wolfpack on National Signing Day.
Jackson’s first recruitment was an active one, and he picked Illinois on June 5, 2022. He held steady and then decommitted July 29. NC State and South Carolina had offered him June 19 and those were his last two offers prior to picking the Wolfpack.
Jackson was also offered by Akron, Arizona State, Boston College, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kent State, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Syracuse and South Carolina.
Recruiters of Record
NC State offensive line coach Garett Tujague.
2023 Projection
Jackson will likely redshirt this upcoming season.
Highlights
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