Jahzare Jackson explains commitment to Georgia, translating skills to football field
Georgia just added an intriguing prospect in the Class of 2024 as 6-foot-10, 350-pound Jahzare Jackson announced his commitment to the Bulldogs Monday morning.
The former Overtime Elite basketball prospect switched his focus to football this summer. Instead of pursuing the NBA Draft, NCAA Football was Jackson’s calling, and heading from the court to the cleats, he believes the Bulldogs offer him the best opportunity.
“Why UGA? Shoot, I fell in love with the coaches, I fell in love with the school, the players were welcoming me when I got there, and I’m still in Georgia too at the end of the day,” Jackson shared on the Overtime Elite social media accounts. “I feel like that was a big thing for me, still being able to be in Georgia. I just felt like when I got there it was home for real.”
“All the coaches were cool, they explained to me what I was going to do when I got there and what they expected out of me,” he continued. “… (Kirby Smart) got these laminated papers, they’ve got the whole list of who got drafted in the past year, and the players that got drafted from Georgia are in red, and the rest are in black. He kind of was just showing me like, ‘Hey son, we got five dudes that went in the league in the first round,’ and was kind of just explaining to me like, ‘You stay here for two years, you’re going to develop your first year and then you’re gonna start your second year.’ He was saying like, ‘I can’t stop you from going to the league. You’re gonna get a good grade and have the potential to go to the league,’ and then also like letting me know he was gonna get on me, he was going to be on me, he was going to coach me hard and he wasn’t going to treat me no differently from any other of his players. I appreciated that.”
Jackson also explained that Georgia’s success played a part in his decision. A champion of multiple Overtime Elite seasons, he hopes to carry that winning track record over to his time in Athens.
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“I feel like I’m a winner, so that played a part,” Jackson said. “I want to be able to come there and have a chance to win a third one with them. I’m a three-time champion in basketball so I want to be a three-time champion in football, that’d be different.”
Jackson adds to Georgia’s top-ranked Class of 2024 and the massive offensive line class of Stacy Searels. Jackson will join Michael Uini (6-foot-7, 335 pounds), Daniel Calhoun (6-foot-6, 370 pounds), Marques Easley (6-foot-5, 345 pounds), Nyier Daniels (6-foot-7.5, 390 pounds), Marcus Harrison (6-foot-7.5, 335 pounds) and Malachi Toliver (6-foot-5, 315 pounds) on campus and hopes he can translate his physicality from the basketball court to the football field.
“I feel like when I was playing basketball I was aggressive so just being able to fully embrace that and actually just be able to be aggressive fully for real, I feel like that’s going to be nothing for me,” Jackson said. “I feel like I’m going to love that and enjoy being able to be dominant on a regular basis like at all times.”
