Donovan Jackson, a 4-star offensive line prospect from Bellaire, Texas, just committed to Ohio State’s 2021 recruiting class.
Jackson stands 6-foot-4, and weighs 308 lbs. His wingspan is 6-foot-11, which helps give him great range in the close quarters of the line of scrimmage.
Jackson is ranked the No. 57 player overall and the 11th-best offensive tackle in the 2021 class in the 247 Composite.
He chose the Buckeyes over offers from 30 schools, including Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Michigan, and Notre Dame.
The 247 sports network itself considers Jackson a borderline 4 or 5-star prospect, 35th-best in the nation, just one spot behind another Buckeye commit, LB Reid Carrico.
The Buckeyes now hold commitments from four of the top-35 in the 247 rankings; Jackson, Carrico, DE Jack Sawyer, and OT Ben Christman.
Between Jackson and Christman, the Buckeyes now have two of the nation’s top offensive line recruits in the fold already for 2021.
They added six linemen in the class of 2020 as they worked to rebuild that unit following a few smaller classes. OL coach Greg Studrawa will likely look to add at least two or three more linemen to the Buckeyes’ 2021 class.
Jackson has family in Cincinnati and first attended an Ohio State football camp when he was in eighth grade. He visited OSU for both the 2019 Spring Game and the November 2019 win over Penn State.
Now, he’ll get to continue his football career in Columbus.
Jackson plays left tackle for his high school team, but could slot in at any tackle or guard spot at the college level. He’s likely to start his Buckeye career at tackle.
He helped lead Episcopal High School to a 9-1 record in Texas Class 4A football in 2019.
His junior season highlight reel (embedded below) shows Jackson’s unique blend of size, speed, and agility. He frequently pulls and gets to the second level of the defense, and certainly appears to enjoy putting defenders into the ground.
You can watch Jackson’s high school highlights below.
