Early bird catches the 8th grader these days in college recruiting (2024)

Donovan Jackson's track to recruiting stardom was short.

The Houston Christian offensive tackle attended an Ohio State camp this summer leading up to two-a-days.

The 6-4, 270-pounder thought he'd log in some reps and maybe he'd show up on someone's radar.

A coach asked him to work with the varsity group. Jackson obliged and more than held his own. Coaches were impressed and let him know so.

Jackson thought he was on to something but didn't get full proof until an offer from Memphis in late July. The Ohio State offer came a day later. Tennessee and LSU offered last month. Oklahoma and Texas A&M offered last week.

Jackson attended Spillane Middle School last year, and he was on everyone's radar before participating in a varsity practice, much less playing in a game.

"I wasn't thinking this far," Jackson said. "I was thinking about trying to get on varsity."

Some of Houston's freshman standouts are proving it's never too early to handle the hype.

Jackson handles it well, but, of course, everything is new.

He remembers announcing his first few offers on Twitter and seeing an influx of followers from fan pages, reporters and other recruits.

His first interview with a reporter came via Twitter as well. He remembers seeing a direct message requesting an interview and immediately being nervous about it. He typed his responses to the reporter's questions and had his sister read and revise before sending. Now interviews are as easy as collecting pancakes for the freshman.

Jackson has had defensive linemen taunt him during games and even call him by name. He has played in five varsity games.

Jackson isn't oblivious to how it all looks to outsiders, either. He won't graduate from high school until 2021 and knows many will ask, 'Why offer him now?'

Bypassing the coach

Remember the name Jaheim Oatis. He's a 6-4, 286-pounder from Columbia, Miss., with nearly 4,000 Twitter followers. He holds offers from Alabama, Mississippi and Mississippi State and flips between tight end, offensive tackle and defensive end in the eighth grade.

The case isn't as extreme for players like Jackson, Katy Taylor offensive tackle Hayden Conner and North Shore quarterback Dematrius Davis. But they along with Oatis drive home the point that early offering isn't anything new in prep sports, let alone football.

Davis is on the freshman team at North Shore. He received a Baylor offer in June. North Shore coach Jon Kay said Davis has all the tools and certainly will be a factor for the Mustangs in the future.

Naturally, however, he raises questions and concerns when one of his incoming freshmen gets a Big 12 offer before seeing varsity action.

Kay said he didn't hear from Baylor before the offer, which he found odd. So he called to follow up.

High school football may be the only sport in which going through the high school coach and showing up on campus still matters.

Kay hopes it stays that way. He said a lot of the attention on recruits comes from outside recruiting camps, which parallels what happens in AAU basketball. Handlers who don't have players' best interest at heart are involved in the recruiting process.

It's why the UIL legislative council is meeting Sunday to discuss allowing high school coaches to be more involved in players' offseason activities, namely 7-on-7 football.

Kay said Davis and his family are handling the early attention well. But he warns not every offer is the same.

"In recruiting these days, an offer doesn't mean exactly what it used to mean," Kay said. "Now it's, 'Well, we'll offer you, but we're not going to take a commitment.' In my mind, that means you're recruiting him. You're not offering him."

Trying to stay humble

The 6-5, 290-pound Conner can identify with Davis and Jackson. His first offer came from Miami after a camp in April. He was still attending Memorial Parkway Junior High School.

Now Conner is a must-see at left tackle for Katy Taylor.

Bryce Foster is another freshman offensive lineman at Katy Taylor who received his first offer from Georgia in June.

Katy Taylor interim coach Joe Sheffy said the early offering does take some getting used to, but he applauds Conner's maturity, saying "he plays a lot better than a freshman."

Much like Jackson, that first offer only motivated Conner.

"I said I have to stay on track," Conner said. "I can't get co*cky about this because I know that maybe more are going to come in.

"I know people are going to be targeting me now so I just have to stay humble."