Adoree announces for USC
GARDENA, Calif. - Adoree' Jackson didn't always know, but his decision to commit to the University of Southern California Wednesday was something in the works for a long time.
Unofficially visiting frequently throughout the recruiting process, it was clear Jackson enjoyed being on campus.
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Coming from East St. Louis (Ill.), USC was truly becoming a home away from home.
"First, I want to thank God for everything in blessing me with this great opportunity he has given me," said Jackson. "I want to thank my sister and my brother in law who are her with me.
"This is a great opportunity and I want to thank all the great institutions that allowed me to go to their school."
With that, Jackson went through a bag of college football gear and memorabilia representing each school. The first hat he pulled, from UCLA, was discarded. Orange and blue cleats also made a brief appearance.
"Next year, I'm taking my talents and playing my collegiate career to the university of…" said as he dug through the bag. "Nope that's not it, nope that's not either…" as he put aside each school's emblem.
"I'll be going to college at the University of Southern California," said Jackson to a large roar from the crowd. "The connection I had, my favorite player growing up was Reggie Bush.
"I've always had dreams of putting USC back on top - bringing them back to those days."
Th five-star athlete is a most coup for the Trojans, who recruited Jackson to play both wide out and cornerback. With double the value as a player, Jackson takes the Trojans scholarship count to 18.
On offense, Jackson had 1,450 yards and 12 scores. He had six interceptions playing cornerback, all in a season where Serra played their starters for only a half in several games last season. USC is looking for half of that production for the whole season.
"They've talk to me a lot about playing both ways," said Jackson. "We've talked about that role and being effective enough to put them over the top."
Jackson, who was chiefly recruited to USC by Tee Martin, selected the Trojans over UCLA, LSU and Florida. It is commitment No. 18 for USC, and the biggest get in terms of recruiting drama since the signing of Joe McKnight.
More from Adoree' Jackson's announcement, including video and photos, on USCFootball.com.