Oklahoma makes top 5 of Nebraska LB

Omaha's Devon Jackson lists OU alongside Arizona State, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Miami

John E. Hoover|

Oklahoma makes top 5 of Nebraska LB

Devon Jackson, one of the top linebacker prospects in the nation, announced his top five schools on Saturday, and Oklahoma made the cut.

Jackson, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound outside linebacker from Omaha, NE, named OU along with Arizona State, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Miami.

Both 247 Sports and Rivals rate Jackson as a 4-star prospect. 247 Sports has Jackson as the No. 12 outside linebacker in the nation and the No. 142 overall prospect, while Rivals has Jackson 20th at his position and 241st in the nation.

Jackson told OU Insider’s Parker Thune that he hopes to take visits soon to Arizona State and A&M with 4-star fellow Nebraskan Deshawn Woods, “but then after that, it’ll probably be Notre Dame and now Oklahoma.”

The NCAA has shut down in-person recruiting until at least May 31, but prospects have more regularly been taking unofficial visits as well as personalized virtual visits.

Jackson is a rising senior at Omaha’s Burke High School, where he also runs track.

His frame, productivity and athletic profile make him an enticing candidate to play the rush linebacker spot in Alex Grinch's Speed D, although Jackson is probably versatile enough to play the weakside linebacker spot as well.

Published Feb 20, 2021

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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