Pitt had a very big day on June 24th as they added two key parts to their defensive future. They received verbal commitments from Ohio Defensive Tackle, DaVon Hamilton and Cornerback Dane Jackson of Quaker Valley.
Dreambackfield.com caught up with Jackson to discuss the past few days of his recruitment.
Jackson worked out at Pitt’s prospect camp at the beginning of June and excelled so much at Cornerback that he was asked to follow up for an individual workout. Well, Sunday he got the chance to go down to the Duratz Complex in the Southside and show what he has.
“I had a private workout for four or five coaches, mainly the defensive coaches. Coach Douglas put me through some drills and the coaches were impressed.”
The hard work paid off as Jackson was offered a scholarship following the workout. “When I got the offer, I knew it’s where I wanted to play college football. So, the decision wasn’t hard at all” said Jackson.
He decided to go back down to Pitt today. Family is important to Jackson so he was accompanied by his mother and older brother. “They (family) were very influential in the process. My mom wanted me to stay close to home.”
Jackson stated about his day, “When I got down to the Southside, I talked with Coach Douglas and Coach Haering. After that, we went up to campus and I got to tour the Cathedral and then the Peterson Event Center then back down to the Southside to meet with Coach Chryst.”
“I decided to tell Coach Chryst I was committing and he smiled real big then gave me a hug.”
It turns out that the family importance that Jackson loves so much is exactly the reason why he chose Pitt. “The coaching staff was always open and honest with me. They have a strong relationship amongst each other.”
Jackson is already building a strong relationship with his future position coach, Coach Douglas. Since that is who he will be learning from for the next four to five years, that relationship is important to him. “It’s definitely building. He’s a great coach.”
While at Pitt today, Jackson got a chance to meet another Cornerback commit in the 2015 class as Malik Henderson from Florida was in town. “He told me congrats and welcomed me to the family,” Jackson said.
As far as the future, Jackson will be enjoying his senior year at Quaker Valley where he is the team’s Quarterback. They finished 2013 8-3 with a loss to Aliquippa in the WPIAL Quarterfinals. He has a few things in mind that he plans on improving for the 2014 season. “I look to improve my technique and my focus. I will work on those things and hopefully will pay off. I don’t want to make any predictions and jinx anything,” he said with a laugh.
Coach Chryst agreed with Jackson and told him “Don’t worry about anything. Get through your senior year and when the time comes we’ll work on things.”
With Jackson and Hamilton, Pitt now has 11 recruits in the 2015 class.