We're moving on to the second of three defensive end commits, Branden Jackson (the others being Desimon Green and Cooper Washington). I think the only profiles that DTN lacks is Washington, DT Leon Mackey, DT Donte Phillips and ATH Otis Wright. Let's get to it.
The Measurables:
Branden Jackson
Position: DE
DTN Profile
Video: N/A
Rivals Profile5.7
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile
Ht: 6'5"
Wt: 220 lbs
Forty: 4.60
High School: McKeesport (McKeesport, PA)
More after the jump.
The Player Speaks: Prior to the season, Jackson talked about moving to inside linebacker and almost quit his high school team:
Was there a time when you thought basketball was your No. 1 sport? That's funny. Really last year, I thought basketball was going to be my sport. I went into football season and didn't think I would be a big part of the offense. Then they told me I would play middle linebacker and I had never played that before. I said, 'Man, I'm going to quit.' I thought I'd work hard to get a scholarship for basketball. But after playing linebacker, I started loving it.
And yes, the picture in the linked article show Jackson playing basketball and this year he's averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds a game for his high school team.
And before the high school year started, Jackson was interviewed by a local television station and he does a good job of answering the reporter's fast-ball questions.
The Video: The only free video can be found on Jackson's ESPN profile. Go check it out.
Scouting Report: The thing that jumps out at me is that I think he's much more athletic than Green or Washington and for me, it's not really close, but Washington would be second on that list. Anyway, as Jackson mentioned above, he wasn't real keen on moving to middle linebacker, and it's strange to see such a big and athletic guy playing middle linebacker and he's probably not ideally suited to play middle linebacker. Still, you can see Jackson's athleticism really shine playing quarterback on his film and he's fast. He has that long stride that probably makes him look not quite as fast, but that stride makes up a lot of ground. I just love this type of athlete as he can probably do a number of things for a defense.
Branden, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!
The 2011 Class:
| Position | Commitment | Ht/Wt | School/State |
Rivals
|
Rivals Rating |
Scout
|
ESPN
|
ESPN Grade |
| QB | Michael Brewer | 6-0/175 | Lake Travis (Austin, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 78 |
| RB | Kenny Williams | 5-10/210 | Hendrickson (Pflugerville, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 4 | 4 | 80 |
| RB | Bradley Marquez | 5-11/180 | Odessa (Odessa, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 4 | 79 |
| WR | Derek Edwards | 6-1/163 | Brenham (Brenham, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 3 | 3 | 79 |
| WR | Marcus Kennard | 6-4/205 | Butler County C.C. (El Dorado, KS) | 4 | 5.8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Jakeem Grant | 5-7/157 | Horn (Mesquite, TX) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 75 |
| TE | Jace Amaro | 6-5/237 | MacArthur (San Antonio, TX) | 4 | 5.9 | 4 | 3 | 78 |
| OL | Tony Morales | 6-4/300 | Sam Houston (Arlington, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 3 | 3 | 78 |
| OL | Alfredo Morales | 6-3/287 | Sam Houston (Arlington, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 76 |
| OL | Le'Raven Clark | 6-6/245 | Rockdale (Rockdale, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 3 | 79 |
| OL | Matt Wilson | 6-7/270 | Coldspring-Oakhurst (Coldspring, TX) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 0 | 45 |
| DL | Dennell Wesley | 6-3/315 | Butler County C.C. (El Dorado, KS) | 3 | 5.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| DL | Leon Mackey | 6-5/260 | Hinds C.C. (Raymond, MS) | 4 | 5.8 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| DL | Donte Phillips | 6-3/260 | Homestead (Mequon, WI) | 2 | 5.4 | 3 | 2 | 74 |
| DE | Kindred Evans | 6-6/215 | South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 75 |
| DE | Branden Jackson | 6-4/220 | McKeesport (McKeesport, PA) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 3 | 78 |
| DE | Desimon Green | 6-5/230 | Clairton (Clairton, PA) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 78 |
| DE | Cooper Washington | 6-4/225 | Muleshoe (Muleshoe, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 78 |
| LB | Blake Dees | 6-0/234 | Spanish Fort (Spanish Fort, AL) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 2 | 73 |
| LB | Sam Eguavoen | 6-2/220 | Lakeview Centennial (Garland, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 2 | 3 | 75 |
| LB | Justin Cooper | 6-1/205 | University School of Nova South (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) | 3 | 5.5 | 2 | 2 | 74 |
| CB | Jeremy Reynolds | 5-9/166 | Oak Ridge Military Academy (Oak Ridge, NC) | 3 | 5.5 | 2 | 3 | 77 |
| ATH | Ronnie Daniels | 6-1/195 | La Cueva (Albuquerque, NM) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 76 |
| ATH | LaDarrin Robertson | 6-3/215 | Longview (Longview, TX) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 77 |
| ATH | DeAndre Washington | 5-9/183 | Marshall (Missouri City, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 3 | 78 |
| ATH | J.J. Gaines | 5-11/175 | Irving Nimitz (Irving, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 77 |
| ATH | Otis Wright | 6-0/180 | Dillard (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) | 2 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
| Averages | 3.14 | 5.62 | 2.92 | 2.40 | 66.00 |