Drake Jackson reflects on his down-to-the-wire USC decision

**TrojanSports.com is in San Antonio, Texas, all week covering the All-American Bowl, which features a number of USC signees, commits and top targets.**

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- As he went through his son's Early Signing Day ceremony last month, knowing all the stress, uncertainty and conflicted feelings that had preceded the moment, Dennis Jackson was actually caught off guard when 4-star defensive end Drake Jackson announced he was signing with USC.

"When he said it, I had to literally see if he messed up," the elder Jackson recalled. "I turned around and looked at his shirt and I saw it and [it] said SC and tears just started flowing."

Jackson’s family, who was standing with him for the announcement, were rooting for that outcome, but they never pressured Drake through the decision-making process. In fact, his father encouraged him to go to Arizona State if that was what he felt in his heart was best for him.

It came down to those two programs, and it came down to the wire as the highly-coveted prospect continued to go back and forth throughout the day leading up to his announcement.

Jackson, who is in San Antonio this week for the All-American Bowl, reflected at length about that process and why he ultimately decided USC was the best path for his future.

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"It was so bad. I didn't even want to commit that day. I was like, 'You know what, I'm about to push this to February' because that's how bad it was," he told TrojanSports.com of the stress that mounted over the final hours before his ceremony. "All decisions are good decisions, but I knew if I was going to get somewhere and be like, 'I'm not supposed to be here, this is not my spot,' I'd feel miserable. That's what I kept thinking about it. ...

"Making that decision was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I didn't think it was going to be that way, but things happen and it's more tougher than usual."

Jackson, who starred at Corona Centennial High School, had filmed two separate announcements for FOX Sports West, which was supposed to air his decision along with that of several other top local stars.

The family was supposed to let the station know by 10:30 a.m. on Early Signing Day, Dec. 19, which one to run. The truth was, though, Jackson didn't even know himself.

At one point, he had his father tell them to prepare the USC spot and also let Trojans coach Clay Helton know. But after Dennis Jackson made those calls, Drake found himself again conflicted.

This time, his father told him, he would have to call the station and Helton himself and let them know he had changed his mind -- again.

"He understands," Drake Jackson said of that subsequent call to Helton. "He understand this is [my] life, this is a kid's life, this is one of the hardest -- maybe the hardest -- decision they have to think of. He understood very well."

Several signees in this class told similar stories about Helton's patience and lack of pressure as they struggled to reach a decision in those final moments.

In this case, the USC staff would just have to wait and hope, knowing how important Jackson was to this class and to the program's needs for finding a dynamic pass rusher. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound 4-star prospect has the versatility to play defensive end, the "Predator" outside linebacker position vacated by standout Porter Gustin or even work in the interior of the line if so needed.

Adding another wrinkle to an already tough decision, the Trojans had changed defensive line coaches late in the recruiting process with Jackson, dismissing Kenechi Udeze after the season before eventually hiring Chad Kauha'aha'a from Boise State.

Jackson happened to run into former Centennial HS standout Desmond Williams, who spent the last three years at Boise State and shared a very strong endorsement for Kauha'aha'a.

That helped answer one question, but he also had a strong connection with ASU linebackers coach and recruiting director Antonio Pierce.

As much as Jackson weighed his two options, he couldn't settle on one. More to the point, the more he weighed his options the more he felt torn.

"I was thinking too much. My brain was pretty much taking over. I had the angel and the devil on one side," Jackson said. "... The way I made my decision, I just really had to step out, breathe, get out of my mind pretty much. Because every time I would choose one school, my brain would tell me to go to another. And I'd choose that school, then it would go back to the other side."

He was pacing around prior to his announcement ceremony and didn't want to talk to anybody. He had to figure this out for himself.

"It was down to 30 minutes, 30 minutes till I signed," he said. "People said it looked like I was about to go AWOL or something. It was really tough to me thinking about the decision, but I know in the long run I made the right decision. And I know I made the decision for me and no one else."

That's a point Jackson wanted to emphasize.

While many knew his family was very pro-USC, he reiterates that he did not make the decision to please anyone else. Nor did he feel any pressure to stay close to home. There was so much on the line with this decision, it had to be about himself and his future.

And to that point, Dennis Jackson didn't even know what his son was going to announce when that moment finally came.

After their last conversation, Drake says his dad changed out of the USC shirt he was going to wear, just in case.

"He took it off because he didn't know. How bad would that be if I said I'm going somewhere else," Jackson said.

In the end, it was indeed USC -- and it was a special moment for father and son for multiple reasons.

"We hugged and he said, 'I love you dad.' I said, 'I love you.' And he said, 'I think I'm going to be happy with this choice.' And I said, 'I think you will be too.,'" Dennis Jackson recalled. "Just academics and everything, you can't beat it. I also told him, I said, 'I think if you go to ASU you're going to always think to yourself, I wonder what it would have been like if I went to 'SC. But by going to 'SC I don't think you're going to say that.'"

Drake Jackson, meanwhile, finally felt at peace with his choice.

In the end, it just made too much sense. Speaking this week, he rattled off the reasons, ranging from proximity to home, USC's strong academic reputation, the storied tradition of the football program, his comfort level with the coaching staff, the "endless opportunities" that come with being in LA and an alum of this university in particular, how he's seen others use that USC degree after their athletic careers end, etc.

While his mind may have waffled and flipped countless times in the lead-up to his announcement, he says he hasn't looked back once since then.

"Soon as I signed, soon as I unzipped my jacket, that weight just lifted off my back," Jackson said. "It's only up from here now."