Vols' Top QB Target Tayven Jackson Locks In Official Visit Date

Coming out of February, no recruit in the country was as hot in the recruiting front as Center Grove (Ind.) quarterback Tayven Jackson. The 6'5", 185 pounds prospect's recruitment surged, and he has is now actively involved in navigate the process as a national recruitment. 

"If the Midwest red-hot talent award doesn't go to (Drew) Allar, it's a shoo-in win for Tayven Jackson," Sports Illustrated Director of Recruiting, John Garcia Jr. said at the time. "The big Indiana native with the live arm added offers from Florida and Tennessee over the weekend. Also, a basketball player at 6-foot-5, the Greenwood (Ind.) star, was also offered by South Carolina in February. Texas A&M, Oregon, Michigan and others offered in January. Jackson is a big, athletic and ultimately intriguing quarterback prospect from the Midwest. His stature, at 6’5’’ is the first thing that catches your attention, but it doesn’t hold it, given his athletic traits as both a passer and a runner. A basketball background allows him to display a bounce in the pocket with legitimate comfort in tucking and running, but the strength pales in comparison to Jackson’s arm itself. 

Jackson sits atop the board for Tennessee, as he is their top quarterback target for the 2022 class, and he has now locked in an official visit with the Vols once the dead period concludes later this summer. 

Jackson posted the news on his Twitter account earlier today. 

Tennessee is set to host an open scrimmage this weekend, if weather permits, which would also allow Jackson to take a look at the Vols' practice on his own, which is a possibility. He is slated to throw at the Under Armour Ohio Camp later this week, too. 

During yesterday's post-practice scrimmage, Josh Heupel was asked what Tennessee would look for in a quarterback. "We've had tall ones, short ones, fast ones, and we've had guys that did not run quite as fast and some others moved around like probably I did back in the day, it doesn't matter," Heupel said. "They're accurate. Some of them had huge arms and some of them have been really great with their timing. To me, it's about the intangibles. You've got to be smart. You've got to be competitive, willing to go lay it on the line every single day, 365 days out of the year. You've got to be able to demand it from the guy that's next to you. Those intangible things are what we're looking for in our quarterback here at Tennessee. We're going to find it, and it's going to be a guy that's going to help lead us to a championship."