Merced County football star makes college signing dream come true despite pandemic
Buhach Colony senior Jalon Jackson had plenty to reflect Thursday afternoon as he sat at a table with his family, looking out at his friends, teammates, coaches, teachers and others that played a role in him achieving one of his dreams.
Jackson made his college choice official, signing his national letter of intent to play football at the University of San Diego during an afternoon ceremony at the school’s amphitheater.
“This is a big moment for me, this day means a lot,” Jackson said. “I’ve grinded for a long time. It was a long recruiting process, the football process was long. This day represents all the hard work.”
Buhach Colony football coach Jerry Dietz feels USD is getting a special person and a great player in Jackson.
“I talked to the coach from San Diego and I told him he’s getting a great kid with athletic ability, his upside is tremendous,” Dietz said. “He can do a lot of things.”
After the end of his junior season, Jackson had a long list of college coaches he was talking to regularly.
However, once the coronavirus pandemic hit the number dramatically dwindled.
The pandemic had a dramatic affect on Jackson’s recruiting process. Without a senior football season this past fall to show potential coaches what he can do, the Thunder’s 6-foot-2, 175-pound receiver had just one offer to play football at a four-year college.
Jackson feels very fortunate to land at a place like the University of San Diego.
“COVID made the recruiting process a real struggle,” Jackson said. “I think if we would have had a season I would have had a lot more offers. I feel great to land at a spot like USD. Especially, an athlete coming from Atwater.
“I just visited San Diego and I’m already falling in love with the area, the food and the beautiful campus.”
Jackson made sure to thank the people that helped him get to San Diego. Not just his coaches at Buhach Colony, but his coaches at SWAG (Students With Aspiring Goals) that helped him get on the 7 on 7 circuit with showcases up and down the state, with also trips to Nevada and Arizona.
“SWAG played a big role in this,” Jackson said. “They helped me understand what I was doing right during the recruiting process and what I was doing wrong. They also helped put me in front of the right people with different showcases.”
Jackson, who has a 3.6 GPA at Buhach Colony, plans on becoming a history teacher and high school coach. He also took time to thank his teachers, many of whom he singled out by name when he addressed the group.
“My teachers the last four years have been a big help,” Jackson said. “Obviously if I had bad grades, they’d come to me and ask how they could help because they knew what I wanted to do with my life. Sometimes that meant sending in late work at midnight. They were always there to help.”
Playing college football has been a longtime dream for Jackson. He’s ready to hit the ground running.
“I’m ready to start whenever I can,” he said. “As early as I can I’m ready to start.”
