re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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Kearis Jackson down to Alabama and Georgia

Kearis Jackson, one of the nation’s top slot wide receivers, will announce his commitment on Saturday.

Jackson, a 4-star prospect from Peach County High School (Fort Valley, Ga.), is down to Alabama and Georgia.

“I’m very excited to get this thing over with,” Jackson told SEC Country. “I know teams are still going to recruit me after I commit, but I’m not going to change my mind. It would take something big if I de-committed. I can’t even think of a reason why as of now.”

The Bulldogs are the overwhelming favorite to land Jackson’s commitment. UGA is my pick to land him. I can say that Jackson didn’t finalize his decision until Wednesday night.

The Under Armour All-American only visited Tuscaloosa once during his recruiting process (last month), compared to numerous trips to Athens. Jackson said that just because he visited Alabama only once doesn’t mean the team’s chances of landing him are worse than Georgia’s.

“I loved the Alabama visit,” Jackson said. “I loved everything about it. I got a chance to talk to all of the coaches and players. I got a chance to watch Calvin Ridley work out. I loved everything.”

While Jackson is saying all of the right things in terms of Alabama’s chances, I have always felt like Georgia was going to land his commitment when he made his decision public. I’ve broken down the top slot targets for the Tide several times over the past few months and didn’t include him because I felt that there was a near-0 percent chance he would choose Alabama.

The top targets fans need to know at slot are 4-star prospects Jaylen Waddle and Justin Watkins. Alabama also has a commitment from 3-star athlete Slade Bolden, who likely will play slot when he enrolls in January.

When Jackson was on campus this summer he got a chance to speak with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who told him how he plans on featuring the slot receiver. Nick Saban also shared a message to him.

“Wherever I go, I’m going to be great,” Jackson said Saban told him. “If you commit to us, we are going to push you to be even better. We’ll push you to work on your craft, get better while doing so and make it to the next level.”

Jackson said both Alabama and Georgia recruited him equally as hard over the last few weeks. He’s planning on taking official visits to at least Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State this fall.

The nation’s No. 26 receiver previously has said he will play college football on the same team with 5-star quarterback Justin Fields. Alabama is recruiting Fields, but likely is behind schools such as Florida State and Georgia.

Jackson said that when he makes his decision on Saturday, one of the first people he plans on speaking with is Fields. He’s planning on telling him all about how the school he picked feels like a second home.

“I have had that feeling,” Jackson said. “I haven’t said which one feels more like home, but I got that feeling at both schools.”

That school is likely Georgia, and I would be shocked if the Bulldogs weren’t his choice.

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Now that I’ve named the All-IMG offense and defense for the four years they have played, it struck me that there are a few guys heading into their first season at IMG who could end up being all-timers as well. Here are five players who could crack a future IMG list.

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The season begins next weekend for five-star Micah Parsons but the Harrisburg, Pa. star is moving into the final stretch of his recruitment.

IN HIS OWN WORDS...

"I'm really getting ready to take on this season," Parsons said. "I kind of put recruiting to the side for a bit. If everything goes right I'll probably be an early graduate so I'm probably going to make a decision soon. I should know if I can possibly graduate early within the next couple weeks. I haven't been talking to many coaches lately. I'm just focused on my season.

"I only have two official visits planned so far and I'm trying to figure out the rest," he said. "I'll be at Nebraska for the Wisconsin game and Ohio State for the Penn State game. We haven't decided on the final three visits yet. We need to look at dates and who they are playing. We play a lot of Saturday games this year so it's a little hard.

"At Nebraska I liked how everything is so close together, the facilities, the coaching staff, how coach Riley really believes in turning things around at Nebraska and bringing back championships," said Parsons. "They have one of, if not the, best facilities that I've seen on all my visits. They just really stick out to me.

"I was at Ohio State for Friday Night Lights," he said. "Everything is going well with them still."

RIVALS' REACTION

Parsons seems to have made it very clear that Ohio State and Nebraska are now his top two contenders with teams like Florida State, Alabama, USC, and Penn State trailing. Those four schools are just some of the contenders for Parsons' final three official visits. It still feels like Parsons will end up in Columbus when all is said and done but Nebraska certainly made a big impression this offseason and could be changing the tide. His visit to the Lincoln campus blew him away and the coaches, along with the players and current recruits, have really embraced him. Parsons has said for a long time that he wants to take all of his official visits so don't expect an announcement before he finishes with those visits.

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RUNNING BACK ...

COMMITS: 1 (Shaun Shivers, APB)

SPOTS TO FILL: 1

411: Four-star recruit Asa Martin (pictured) of Decatur (Ala.) Austin is Auburn's top target. He will announce Aug. 24 with Auburn and Alabama being the leading contenders. It could go either way, but the confidence level seems to be higher in Tuscaloosa right now.

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TIGHT END ...

COMMITS: 0

SPOTS TO FILL: 0-1

411: It's not a given Auburn will take a tight end, but it does seem as though the Tigers would like to do so. Michael Parker of Huntsville (Ala.) Westminster Christian Academy (pictured) and 4-star recruit Luke Ford of Illinois are two the Tigers really like. Parker's brothers play for Alabama so if the Tide offers, look out. Ford is trending to Alabama. Baylor commit Ben Sims could be someone to watch. The Bears have three tight ends committed.

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DEFENSIVE LINE ...

COMMITS: 1 (Daquan Newkirk, DE/DT)

SPOTS TO FILL: 3-4

411: Auburn could use another tackle or two and at least two ends/bucks. One end target, Andres Fox of Mobile Christian (Ala.) could have a decision soon and he lists Auburn, Alabama, LSU and Stanford as the favorites. That one could go either way. At tackle, 4-star target Coynis Miller will announce after the season. Florida leads with Auburn No. 2. At the buck end/linebacker spot, Auburn seems poised to land 4-star target Richard Jibunor (pictured) of Athens Christian (Ga.). He choice reveal his choice in the next month.

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No. 26 overall, No. 9 in the SEC. By comparison, Alabama is at No. 25 and Georgia is at No. 31. Auburn recruits against those two programs more than any others.

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Wait, we wouldn't take Fox's commitment?

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