BOWLING GREEN —
Jonathan Jackson already has college offers from Arkansas State, Eastern Kentucky, Murray State and Western Kentucky.
Soon, the Mayfield senior may have a few more.
Jackson (6-foot, 215 pounds) didn't need to bring his man card with him to Friday's Class A state championship game. The proof that he was a man among boys lied in the sprawling bodies he left in his rearview mirror at L.T. Smith Stadium.
When the dust cleared, Jackson's final rushing numbers were off the charts. In chunks, he racked up 278 yards on 19 carries to go with four total touchdowns.
The scary thing? He's being recruited as a linebacker. He caused a fumble and recorded five tackles defensively during the 55-8 blowout of Fairview.
The game's Most Valuable Player wasn’t exactly fixated upon his future plans as he celebrated alongside his Cardinal teammates after the game.
“Hopefully (this performance) will help me out (recruiting-wise), but right now I’m just trying to enjoy this time with my teammates,” Jackson said.
Jackson scored Mayfield’s first three TDs of the afternoon. He treated Fairview tacklers as if they were bumper boats, bouncing off of them and speeding past them as he sailed for the horizon.
“He’s a great player,” said Fairview coach Nathan McPeek. “He got on the edge and we didn’t tackle very well.”
After Mayfield converted a third-and-28 on a pass play in the first quarter, Jackson took the next two handoffs for the remaining 33 yards to give his team a 14-0 lead. Fairview cut it to 14-8, but Jackson wasn’t concerned.
“The past three playoff games, we were down at one point in time, so we weren’t worried,” he said. “We’ve got great leadership on this team.”
That guidance starts with himself.
In all, Jackson rushed 262 times for 2,229 yards and 36 touchdowns on the year.
“I’ve been trying to do that all year for my teammates, anything my team needed,” Jackson said. “We got the win, that’s all that matters.”
Other schools interested in Jackson and vice versa are Louisville, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, among others, said the leader of nine Mayfield seniors.
Jackson finished off his illustrious career with 60 straight games started. He was a three-time 1,000-yard rusher for the Cardinals.
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Mayfield had monster in senior Jackson; offers are on the table
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