Prospect: Tre Jackson, linebacker, Lowndes (Ga.) High School, Class of 2014
Colleges: Committed to Georgia Tech on March 15, 2013, less than a week after getting his first BCS scholarship offer from the Yellow Jackets.
Why Georgia Tech? “It was just because of the faith they had in me to offer me a scholarship. That meant a lot to me. People were saying, being that I’m a 5-foot-10 linebacker playing in the box, I might not get a lot of opportunities like that, especially to a great D1 school. Georgia Tech had a lot of faith in me, and that’s the kind of school I need to be associated with.”
Vitals: 5-foot-9, 225 pounds, 3.92 GPA, and will likely pursue a career in Sports Medicine.
Recruiting rankings: TBA
Things to know: As a junior, Jackson led Lowndes with 45 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for losses. He also had two interceptions and recovered two fumbles.
They said it: N/A
Something people are surprised to know?"I really like to hunt. A lot of people make fun of me because I hunt. I’m supposed to be a big and bad football player, and I guess we’re not supposed to hunt. I like to hunt after a football game. I’ll get home around midnight, and wake up first thing in the morning and hit the road. I’ll be in the deer stand by 7 a.m. and stay until noon. Then I’ll go home, eat, and come back to hunt some more. When I’m sitting there by myself, I have some good thinking time, especially after a game when I’m sore. I mainly hunt deer, but I’ve also hunted for dove. I want to try bear hunting one day. I love the thrill of the hunt. It’s like peanut butter pumping when you see a deer. I like the adrenaline rush. It’s like the same feeling you get when playing football.”
Favorite non-coach teacher? "Probably two teachers I had in the third grade, Ms. Ingram and Ms. Julie Hiers. I think it was because they were my first real teachers. At the same time, they didn’t just teach me. I could go to them, and they would help me, whether it was stuff in sports, at home, or anything. They would give me the motherly approach. They just cared that much for all of their students. And they loved football. We kind of had that connection.”
Nickname? “When I got to high school, my grandfather came up with ‘Stonewall’ after the Confederate general. He said it fits me because of the way I command my troops, or my teammates. I look at my teammates – they are my brothers. And I study and analyze film on great detail. I know the plan. I always know where everybody on defense should line up before the play.”
In BYU, Georgia Tech will face a defense that is one of the toughest in the nation to score against and has a playmaking force in outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
Tailback J.J. Green said he can’t say for sure how many times he has heard “you’re one play away from playing” from Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and running backs coach Bryan McClendon.
Here is a clue that your trip to sunny south Florida may not be a carefree vacation: You’re a football team, and you lose one of your starters during warm-ups.
If nothing else, Georgia has ensured at least one thing about its season. Regardless of where the rest of the schedule takes them, whether its to an SEC championship, a BCS bowl bid or a national title, there will be no claims from outsiders that this team received too many breaks and escaped health issues, no suggestions that the road to success was lined with lollipops and unicorns.
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