IMG Academy DL Names Florida Among Top Five

Florida cracked the top five schools for class of 2024 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy interior defensive lineman Jayden Jackson on Tuesday, he announced.

Jackson included Texas, Ohio State, Miami and Oklahoma alongside UF on his trimmed list of contenders, narrowing his recruitment down from 32 scholarship offers.

First and foremost I want to thank God for his continuous blessings, I also would like to thank my Mom for everything that she has done for me. With that being said I will be taking the next step in my recruiting process. TOP 5 pic.twitter.com/eDYEy1UR74
— Jayden Jackson (@JaydenJackson65) May 3, 2023

The Gators entered the mix for Jackson's services by placing an offer in his inbox on March 12. He made the trek to Gainesville for an unofficial visit on Apr. 1 to observe one of Florida's spring practices under head coach Billy Napier before naming UF among his original top 12 programs on Apr. 10.

Jackson, 6-foot-2, 300 pounds, is considered the No. 61 defensive lineman and No. 651 overall prospect in the class of 2024, per the 247Sports composite rankings. He moved south to IMG Academy from Brownsburg (Ind.) High prior to the 2022 campaign after producing 45 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in two varsity seasons up north.

Primarily aligning between the nose tackle and three-technique spots on IMG's defensive line, Jackson tallied 17 tackles with six for loss in four games as a junior.

IMG Academy defensive line coach is a huge fan of DT @JaydenJackson65 … said he picks up coaching applies it to the field quickly. High-end strength/quickness combo.

Top 5: Ohio State, Texas, Miami, Florida and Oklahoma pic.twitter.com/CmUb9fl3ot
— Gerry Hamilton (@GHamiltonOTF) May 3, 2023

Florida has yet to acquire an interior defensive line commitment in the class of 2024 but brought in two transfers, Cam'Ron Jackson and Caleb Banks, and signed two high school prospects in the class of 2023, Will Norman and Gavin Hill, at the position this offseason.

UF also signed edge rushers Kelby Collins, Kamran James and T.J. Searcy in the class of 2023.

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