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Name: Jalen Jackson
Position: Offensive Tackle or Offensive Guard
Ranking: 3* by Rivals
Coach Brohm brought over another former WKU commit to West Lafayette, and that is alright by me. While his Rivals page says he is only 6’3” 250 pounds his HUDL page he lists himself at 260 pounds. Ideally, a few extra pounds wouldn’t hurt an interior lineman.
Signing day is tomorrow but we have 6 early enrollees on campus. Get to know Jalen Jackson & see his love for Purdue https://t.co/iugvD4E1R7
— Purdue Football (@BoilerFootball) January 31, 2017
What is the most astonishing part about him though? He runs a 4.74 forty yard dash. That is insane for an offensive lineman. He also has a 33 inch vertical, so this kid is just a pure athlete, maybe defensive line will be where he ends up at, but as for now he is being recruited as an offensive lineman.
Obviously, he shows great foot work with the speed to get up to the 2nd level of blockers, but with being so light, I am not sure if he will make an impact right away. Granted, Brohm wants to run an uptempo offense, so lighter offensive lineman are ideal, but 260 pounds just seems too small to block a B1G Ten caliber defensive tackle.
At his high school in Georgia, he played right tackle and they ran right behind him. He is quick enough with his 4.74 speed to block defensive ends, but at 6’3” you generally like having your tackles at 6’5” or bigger. Granted, Patterson is/was only 6’3” and he started at left tackle for us, but he was not nearly as quick. I like Jackson’s potential, with a little bit more weight put on he could be really good.