On Thursday morning, Ryan Wright, the national recruiting director for Recruiting News Guru, reported that Royse City, TX 2021 wide receiver Ketron Jackson was planning on taking an official visit to Colorado as well as Oregon State.
Jackson has been a top-of-the-boards target for Darrin Chiaverini since the Buffs' offensive coordinator offered him in early May. Since then, Colorado has stayed a primonent contender to land the 6-foot-1, 190-pound blue chip prospect.
In early June, Jackson released a Top 7, naming Colorado, Oregon State, Texas, TCU, Southern Methodist, Arkansas and Texas A&M as his finalist options.
You can read Jackson's full interview with Recruiting News Guru here.
Join the conversation on Jackson at Buff Nation, the premiere message board community serving countless Colorado fanatics.
Interestingly, during his interview with Wright, Jackson was asked if he'd been watching any college or NFL players recently with the intention of observing them and applying lessons learned to his own game.
“I am not watching as much as I was, but I have been watching a few," Jackson answered. "Lately I have been watching Colorado receiver Laviska Shenault. I talked to the Colorado coaches about Laviska, he was a hard-working player for Colorado. (Chiaverini) told me to look up a few of their games, I watched his good and bad; he is a very explosive player. I watched what he was doing and added some of that to my game.”
Of course, a main selling point for Colorado in working to court Jackson has been likening his game and potential to that of Shenault.
“I feel that I can do the same things that Laviska did, as long as I put in the work," Jackson told CUSportsNation after conducting a virtual visit with the Buffs back in May. "'Coach Chev' told me about all the work he put in and if I put in the same amount, I can get up to where his play is.”
Rivals recently ranked the contenders that are vying for Jackson's services and the Buffaloes weren't at the top of his list. However, the Buffs' approach to Jackson has been unique and he is being recruited as a potential centerpiece addition to CU's Class of 2021.
His admiration of Shenault combined with the prospects of doing similar things in college as well as seeing Boulder and Colorado's facilities firsthand could do much to shift some momentum with him in favor of the Buffs.
As for when Jackson may find himself on campus, that's up in the air. Right now, the NCAA-mandated recruiting dead period extends through August 31, so a potential OV to Colorado is still some time away, but rest assured the Buffs are keeping pace with one of the most dynamic 2021 wideouts in the nation.
