3-star DL Kendall Jackson talking frequently with Kentucky, schedules visit
It’s been a busy week for three-star defensive lineman Kendall Jackson.
The class of 2024 prospect from the Sunshine State is generating serious interest from plenty of SEC programs as he heads into the summer before his senior season. Jackson was at Mississippi State on Monday, Ole Miss on Tuesday, then Alabama on Wednesday. He already holds scholarships from the first two and is looking to earn a prestigious offer from the Crimson Tide in the near future. The home state school, Florida, where he intends to visit on Saturday, is leading the charge for the 6-foot-3, 245-pound DL from Buchholz High School.
But Kentucky is near the top of his list, too. Jackson tells KSR that he’ll take a visit to check out UK’s campus on April 8, then again during the fall for a gameday visit. He’s been in constant contact with Wildcats’ defensive backs coach Chris Collins, who recently agreed to a new two-year deal to stay in Lexington through the summer of 2025. Kentucky was the second SEC offer for Jackson, which came from Collins back in Oct. 2022.
“Me and Coach Collins talk frequently,” Jackson told KSR on Wednesday. “He just catches up with me in life, we don’t really talk about football, we just talk about life and how’s everybody doing, how’s your family doing, we don’t just talk about football.”
Jackson’s visit in a couple of weeks will be his first to Kentucky. He’s already preparing a long list of questions that center around academics and on-field development. Jackson is familiar with fellow defensive lineman Deone Walker, who was tabbed a True Freshman All-American this past season, and plans to carve out some time for a conversation with the budding superstar. Jackson was shocked to learn that Walker — listed at 6-foot-6, 350 pounds — was only a freshman when he first heard of him.
Kentucky won’t be the only program to receive a visit in the coming weeks from Jackson, either. Texas, which offered him in January, is the next trip after Florida, followed by pitstops at Florida State and Georgia Tech before arriving at UK. Jackson mentioned a handful of schools by name that he would like to take gameday visits to this fall: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Florida, Kentucky, and Texas. That schedule could certainly change though, especially if Alabama decides to extend him an offer.
After his spring visits are in the books, Jackson plans to release a top five, which he says will be the five schools he takes official visits to, before making a final decision sometime during his senior season.
As a junior, Jackson recorded 65 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. He was named to Florida’s Class 4S All-State Team this past season. Jackson is considered the No. 435 overall ’24 recruit in the nation by the On3 Consensus.
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