Photographs courtesy Jackson family
The junior has developed into a Division I football recruit
The football scholarship offers kept coming and coming for Annapolis High School’s Rion Jackson, who received 17 Division I offers from several of the best programs. Six offers have materialized from programs in the Associated Press Top-25 preseason poll, including Penn State, and the universities of Georgia (2021, 2022 national champions), Michigan (2023), and Notre Dame. This made Jackson brim with pride.
“These types of opportunities/offers from such big schools are few and far between,” says Annapolis defensive coordinator Justin Davis, who also coached at Navy for 13 years.
Who could have predicted Jackson, a three-sport athlete, would be so highly regarded? Jackson’s stellar sophomore season in 2024 led to these offers. Yet just year earlier, the defensive end suited up for the Annapolis jayvee squad. He had only played 11 varsity games before the attention began.
“I was really ready for it,” Jackson says of the recruiting process. “I have taken it all in and I am just going one day at a time.”
Believe it or not, Jackson wasn’t sure he could play football at the next level. That all changed with him dominating to help the Panthers to an 8-3 record last fall. He had one knock against him—being undersized at 195 pounds, but Jackson addressed that for this season.
“I had questions before I was a junior,” Jackson explains. “Am I good enough to play college football?” The answer is yes. Jackson finished last year second in the county in sacks (9.5) and led Annapolis in tackles (50) and tackles for loss (13). He also had two forced fumbles, and an interception return for a touchdown.
Jackson produced some memorable games, too. He recorded 11 tackles, including four for a loss in a second-round playoff defeat to Dundalk in December. He registered two sacks in routs over North County, Severna Park, and South River.
Annapolis Football Coach Dewayne Hunt says the 16-year-old Jackson has handled the recruiting pressure very well. Many can be overwhelmed by the constant barrage of phone calls, texts, and emails. Jackson stayed calm and welcomed the attention.
“He has taken all this exceptionally well,” explains Hunt, who noted he had a phone call with Penn State Head Coach James Franklin about Jackson. “We had coaches from USC, Ohio State, Georgia, and Notre Dame visiting our school. It has not changed him one bit. He is very humble. It’s almost like all the offers never happened.”
Photographs courtesy Jackson family
Great things keep happening to Jackson. He got invited to the 2026 Under Armour All-America football game on ESPN in San Antonio, Texas. “It’s amazing,” Jackson says of being named an All-American. “I used to dream about playing in the game. Not everyone gets this opportunity. I just have to make the most of it.”
Jackson wants to be performing at his peak for that game and this 2025 season. He focused sharply on getting bigger, stronger, and faster in the offseason. Goal accomplished. He gained 23 pounds by working out two hours a day and eating healthier.
He improved his football knowledge and technique by attending three college summer camps: Duke University, and the universities of South Carolina and Virginia. The three-sport athlete showed off his speed by running a 4.69 forty-yard dash at Duke.
“Rion has a lot of tools you really want in a football player,” Davis says. “To have his size, frame, and athletic ability…There’s not many 16-year-olds like that running around the country.”
Jackson is seriously considering these strong academic schools since he carries a 3.7 grade-point average while staying busy with basketball and lacrosse, too. Jackson says he might concentrate more on football, giving up basketball this winter and switching to track and field in the spring to improve his speed and get into better shape.
“His potential, body type, and speed check all the boxes for colleges,” Hunt says. “He’s almost 6-5 and has an 82-inch wingspan. The demand for edge rushers has been magnified more by colleges and at the NFL level. He has the build of that type of player.”
