Ole Miss close to offering Florida DE
Ole Miss is looking to replenish its defensive line, where it takes some big hits in the next two years, and one prospect who may be on the verge of an offer is St. Petersburg (Gibbs HS), Fla. defensive end Tim Jackson.
Jackson, a 6-foot-5, 220 pound defensive end, already has 15 offers but the Rebels have yet to make an offer.
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Jackson's offers include the likes of Auburn, Kentucky, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest, but he's waiting on an offer from Ole Miss, and perhaps some major in-state schools.
"I've talked with coach (Chris) Vaughn, but we really haven't talked about an offer yet," Jackson said on Sunday. "He is telling me that they'd love to have me and he really likes the way I play football and he thinks I could help out the program. I think they may be real close to offering."
Ole Miss may need to offer soon as Jackson is planning on trimming his list to a top five in the coming weeks.
"I just need to sit down and talk with my parents and get some advice," he said. "After I do that, I'll cut my list to five."
If Ole Miss does offer, it will likely put the Rebels in the thick of things for the standout defensive lineman.
"If they offer, they'll definitely get serious consideration," Jackson said. "One of the things I'm looking at is location – where my parents can come see a few games – and it (Ole Miss) is closer to home than several of the schools that have offered."
A year ago, most Florida recruits knew little about Ole Miss – but Houston Nutt's nine-game winning season, a win over eventual national champion Florida, a Cotton Bowl win and a preseason Top 10 rating has changed that – especially with Jackson.
"I know all about Ole Miss," he said. "I was actually in the Swamp when they beat Florida. I watched them in Cotton Bowl and some other games. You can say that I've done my homework when it comes to Ole Miss."
"I was really impressed with the season they had last year," he continued. "This year, they are expected to win the SEC West and they have the talent that has led them to be favored to do that."
While Jackson plans to trim his list to five later this month, he is in no hurry to make a verbal pledge.
"I plan to take all five of my visits," he said. "I will probably visit the in-state schools on unofficial visits and take official visits to the more distant locations like Ole Miss and Stanford."
Ole Miss has been trying to get Jackson up for its senior camp on July 25, but it appears Jackson is not going to be able to make the trip.
"Between my job and getting ready for football season, I don't think I'm going to be able to go," he said. "We have a new staff at my high school and I am trying to work with them to help out and to show some senior leadership."
Jackson has a 3.7 GPA and a 1120 on his SAT and he had 42 tackles with eight sacks last fall as a junior.
RebelSports.net update: Two days after this story was published, Jackson informed RebelSports.net that Ole Miss has offered.