Antione Jackson flips from Georgia to Miami Hurricanes: "I've known for a while"
When Ft. Lauderdale Dillard High School CB Antione Jackson first landed a Miami Hurricanes scholarship offer on Feb. 4 of 2021, his reaction was immediate.
And emotional.
Tears streamed down his face.
Jackson’s aunt ran track at UM, and his uncle, Dwayne Wimbley, played basketball for Miami.
Fast-forward to three months later, though, and Miami’s prior staff just wasn’t showing Jackson a lot of love. He wasn’t even on the invite list for a June 2 barbecue for top recruits in his class.
When the new Cane coaches took over, they had their work cut out with Jackson. Georgia already had its hooks into him … deeply. Miami offered Jan. 28 of this year, and less than two months later he was a Bulldogs commitment.
Things started to shift for Jackson in April, as UM continued the chase and he got on campus two days after attending the Hurricanes’ spring game. He also worked out with coaches at Legends Camp June 25.
And today he announced his flip to becoming a Miami commitment.
Jackson says this was no spur-of-the-moment decision. In fact, he says he’s known he would do this since April when he got a real taste of this new Cane program.
“That’s when I knew,” Jackson says now. “I’ve know for a while.”
Indeed.
And it took a lot of hard work from Miami coaches. In particular, former Georgia coach Jahmile Addae played a big role as UM’s new DB coach.
“We built that bond, they made me feel like home,” Jackson said. “Coach Addae, all the defensive staff were great. They just told me they can get me where I need to be.”
We built that bond, they made me feel like home. Coach Addae, all the defensive staff were great. They just told me they can get me where I need to be.
antione Jackson
Where he needs to be … is the NFL, eventually.
“My goal is to be a top player at the next level, just make it to the NFL,” said Jackson, who has an On3 ranking of No. 165 in the nation and a consensus ranking of No. 82. “Now I’m ending my recruitment a little bit.”
A 6-1, 170-pounder, his coach at Dillard, Tyler Tate, says a good comparison here is to a young Artie Burns. Burns, of course, was a first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of UM in 2016.
” Artie Burns, he reminds me of him,” Tate says. “That’s a great comparison.”
Tate adds that “He’s extremely long, also has great feet and hips for a taller kid. I think he’s the best corner in the Class of 2024.”
CaneSport’s take
The recruiting turnaround under the new staff has been remarkable. Top recruits are visiting, have been impressed, and on top of the commits there are a lot of other highly talented prospects UM is high on the radar with or close to landing. The 2024 class is also now off to a great start with this Georgia flip. Kudus to Mario Cristobal, Jahmile Addae, et al.
