Recruit Rewind: Detailing LB Kari Jackson's path to Penn State

Penn State will kick off spring practice in just over three weeks from now. With two weeks to go in the February dead period, plus spring break from March 3-9, head coach James Franklin and his staff have just a few more weeks to focus on their current roster before on-campus recruiting starts up again.

With that in mind, we’re looking back on Penn State’s Class of 2024 these next few weeks, profiling all 25 players. Today, we shift our focus to one of two future linebackers for the Nittany Lions.

Kari Jackson
Linebacker
6-1, 220
West Bloomfield
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Rankings	Stars	National	Position	State
On3 Industry	***	589	54	16
On3	***	N/R	78	21
ESPN	***	N/R	21	10
Rivals	****	244	13	6
247Sports	***	N/R	62	15

Statistics

• Missed senior season with an injury
• Totaled 103 tackles, 26 tackles for loss as a junior
• Totaled 53 tackles and three sacks as a sophomore

Notable

• Four-year letterman
• Two-year team captain
• Played at IMG Academy in Florida as a sophomore

Recruitment

• Committed to Penn State on February 28, 2023
• Recruited by Manny Diaz
• Picked Penn State over Cincinnati, Maryland, Missouri, Stanford, UCF and Wisconsin
• Officially visited on June 2, 2023

Projection: Jackson missed his senior season with a shoulder injury and was very quiet with the media when it came to the rehabilitation process. He’s expected to be a box linebacker for the Nittany Lions, so with both Kobe King and Tyler Elsdon returning in 2024, we would expect him to redshirt. 

West Bloomfield head coach Zach Hilbers: “Kari was a tremendous leader for our program at West Bloomfield both on and off the field. His offseason work ethic and training was unmatched and he was the clear emotional leader of our team.” 

Get to know Penn State LB Kari Jackson

In both the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes, Penn State made it a priority to find linebackers who excel in space. While Abdul Carter will move to defensive end this spring, the Lions still have Keon Wylie, Tony Rojas and Kaveion Keys. Rojas will be expected to take on a much bigger role in 2024, while both Wylie and Keys have shown enough that the staff feels comfortable with what they have.

So, for the 2024 class, Franklin and his staff went the opposite route, prioritizing players who make their living inside the box. They ultimately locked up two of their top targets, with both Pittsburgh native Anthony Speca and Detroit native Kari Jackson signing in December.

“We wanted to just make sure that we got guys that have a great box feel,” said recruiting coordinator Alan Zemaitis. He went on to add, “We feel really good about the athleticism of both guys and their way around the box. That is a skill set that is kind of glossed over a little bit because everybody wants those athletic guys, which we do have.”

Both Jackson and Speca committed early in the process and held firm throughout. For Jackson, he ended his recruitment on Feb. 28, 2023. It came after three visits to State College, including a trip a month prior for a junior day event just before the February dead period. 

It was around that same time that he also announced that Penn State was one of seven schools standing out, joining Cincinnati, Maryland, Missouri, Stanford, UCF and Wisconsin. The Badgers appeared to be PSU’s top competitor at the end, but when he had to decide, the culture surrounding Franklin’s program ultimately won out. 

Link: Penn State cornerback target Brandon Finney locks in spring visit schedule

“I would say, first, the team culture,” Jackson said when asked why Penn State ultimately was the school that won out. “Just the relationship that the coaches have built with the players and also the relationships the players have with each other. They call themselves brothers there. They look up to their position coaches and Coach Franklin as father figures and role models. I really like the culture there. It’s a big family. They’re all supporting each other and are there for each other.”

During his junior season, Jackson totaled 103 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and three sacks. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound inside linebacker was expected to have another big year in 2023, but an injury in West Bloomfield’s season opener at the end of August forced him to sit out the rest of the season.

However, that never impacted Penn State’s commitment to Jackson. By then, the Nittany Lions were already well aware of what he was capable of. 

“Kari is a stat stuffer,” Zemaitis said. “This is a guy that was averaging like 10 tackles a game his junior year going into the playoffs. He’s a guy that does a really good job at block destruction. He’s a guy that keeps his shoulder square as he’s scraping over the top of the defensive line or whoever is spilling.

“[But Kari is also] always going downhill. He did a good job of having a lot of not-bad shots his junior year and a lot of solo tackles. So, he’s a guy that was all over the place and does a good job tracking the near hip and tackling guys in space when they get to the edge.”