Oklahoma pulls off comeback to snag four-star DL over Florida, Miami, Ohio State and Texas

Jayden Jackson, the four-star defensive lineman from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, has committed to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Those are words Oklahoma coach Brent Venables probably didn't expect to hear just a few months ago, but the Sooners made a furious comeback on the recruiting trail to came away with the pledge of the 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive lineman.

You see, Oklahoma wasn't really considered a true finalist for Jackson at first.

Florida, Ohio State, Miami and Texas all seemed to have an edge over Oklahoma and this one until the last minute.

Jackson had taken unofficial visits to all four schools and had taken an official visit to Florida, Ohio State and Miami with one planned at Texas in late June. He hadn't even visited Oklahoma yet after being offered in March, but once he officially visited Norman – everything changed.

“I’ll be honest, I almost decided not to visit,” Jackson told 247Sports. “They were the final school to make my top five and the only one I didn’t visit unofficially prior to taking all my official trips.

“Within the first 10 minutes of the visit, I was ready to commit. I was honesty blown away after talking with coach Venables and coach [Todd] Bates."

Jackson is a pretty solid commitment for Oklahoma and quite a recruiting win for the Sooners considering how the odds looked before that official visit. 

It sounds as if Venables' reputation from his time at Clemson played a role in Jackson's commitment. In his first season at Oklahoma, Venables went just 6-7, but he was one of, if not the best, defensive coordinators in college football while under Dabo Swinney at Clemson. 

That type of long-time success as a defensive coach doesn't just go away after one transition season, and it seems as if Jackson gets that.

“ I can’t wait to play for coach Venables and coach Bates,” Jackson said. “Their reputation and resume speaks for itself. Coach Venables has a great background as a defensive coordinator and I’m excited to learn under him."

On the 247Sports composite board, Jackson ranks as the No. 44 defensive lineman in the 2024 class.