The Great and Unlikely Story of Georgia Football's Newest Acquisition, Jah Jackson

Apparently, Jah Jackson had outgrown football. The taller he got, nearly 7 feet 10 inches, the more people told him basketball was his game. The more famous people he encountered, from Bronny James on the AAU circuit to Alexandre Sarr at Overtime Elite, the more certain his future on the court seemed.

Still, there were times when Damien Wilkins, the general manager of Overtime Elite in Atlanta, saw Jackson and made what he thought was a joke. He referenced the school where Wilkins and his uncle Dominique played, and that school has a football program that doesn’t go unnoticed.

If basketball doesn't work out, I know the school down the road will be good for you, Wilkins would say, as he recounted the story recently. But it wasn't anything serious or something I thought he was seriously considering.

Jackson didn’t know he would either. But after a few whirlwind months and a rapid recruitment drive that saw him visit Florida State and others, he has committed to play tackle at Georgia and plans to enroll next month, making him one of the tallest players to ever play college football.

Jackson, who turned 20 in January, says he is 6-11, which is equal to another current player: Tom Hadary, an offensive lineman at Jacksonville State. Two other college football players since 2019 were 6-11, according to TruMedia. According to Pro Football Reference, no player at the NFL Scouting Combine since 2000 has been taller than 6-9.

Jackson weighs 325 pounds. He said Georgia coaches have told him they are happy with his weight, and even though he hasn't played competitive football since high school, they see him as a potential starter next year.

“I'm next in line for the spot next year, Jackson said. (The coaches told him), 'You're going to develop this year, against some of the best D-ends in the country, and get some snaps. Next year you have the potential to come in and be the starter.'

A former basketball prospect who wasn’t even on the football recruiting radar until June, joining Georgia this year and potentially making a contribution so quickly? How did this happen?

Jackson was born and raised in San Diego, where he played football at Pop Warner Elementary School. He moved to South Florida with his mother and brother in sixth grade and continued to play football, including being the only eighth-grader in college at Westminster Christian Academy. He played left tackle, defensive end and some tight end.

Around that time, he started growing even more. That pushed him more toward basketball and put football on the back burner except for backyard games. He was on Team LeBron, where he played with Bronny James. He's a cool guy, laid-back guy, Jackson said, and LeBron James watched games when the NBA was off season.

As a junior in high school, Jackson attended Overtime Elite, the Atlanta-based program that develops basketball recruits. Sarr, who played there from 2021-23, was the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, while Rob Dillingham (who went to Kentucky) was a lottery pick and Tyler Smith was the 33rd overall pick. Jackson played with or against all of them and declared for the draft as well. He went undrafted, but he had professional offers to play in Greece and Spain and in the G League.

But when his thoughts turned back to football, he decided to turn down a future in basketball.

I feel like I got the most out of it, Jackson said. I got something out of it at the end of the day. I feel like it made me a better person, it helped me deal with adversity and fight. And it made me a better competitor. All of that can translate to the football field at the end of the day.

His mother, Lelah, and his uncle, Avery Holley, urged him to reconsider football. Jackson eventually agreed and hired a coach to get back into football shape. Meanwhile, his uncle contacted Florida State assistant Patrick Surtain Sr., who had coached at American Heritage School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., when Jackson was at IMG Academy. Surtain invited Jackson to an FSU recruiting camp in early June.

It was the first camp Jackson had attended, and he went through a lot of training preparation to make sure he had the right foundation. It wasn't that much of a challenge, according to Wilkins, who recalled that Jackson worked hard when he came to OTE to lose weight and get into basketball shape.

“Everything we put in front of Jah, he embraced,” Wilkins said. “He's honest with himself. He's not the type to shy away from constructive criticism.

Florida State was impressed enough to offer him a spot, even though the Seminoles wanted Jackson as a tight end. FSU coaches invited him back, but some recruiting and social media platforms began reporting that Jackson was interested in playing another sport. That same day of camp, college coaches began contacting him on social media. So did Florida, so Jackson and Holley drove to Gainesville and met with coaches, including Billy Napier.

Georgia was intrigued, too, and the recruiting staff saw the social media posts and passed it up the chain. Jackson and his uncle hit the road again, driving to Athens and going through the workouts there. The coaches invited him for an official visit the following weekend, and stayed in touch when Jackson went on another visit, to Mississippi State.

Shoot it happens really fast, Jackson said of the hiring process. It's a daily thing, every day something new, I have to be on top of it, make sure I'm communicating with everybody.

Ultimately, Jackson decided Georgia was too good to pass up. That made Wilkins happy, of course, but he also sees Jackson's basketball skills in his footwork, speed and strength, a lot of good qualities for a tackler.

Like all of us, it will be as good as the support he gets, Wilkins said. If people on the team want Jah to succeed, Jah will focus on that. If people want to work with him, he will.

Jackson was asked what it was like to start all over again: A few months ago he thought he was going to pursue a professional basketball career, and now he's embarking on a college football career as a freshman at one of the nation's top programs, surrounded by promising prospects who have been playing football much longer and more recently than he has.

“I'm excited about it, I'm ready to embrace the process and be better at the end of the day,” Jackson said. “I trust my athletic ability to get me there and handle my business at the end of the day. But it's been good. I wouldn't say overwhelming, but it's been a big deal. It's been a blessing at the end of the day. I just try to stay thankful for the opportunities and for people who believe in me and see something they haven't even seen on film. God told me this was the path I was meant to take.

(Top photo by Adam Hagy / Overtime Elite)