Husky Spotlight: Drake Jackson reflects on high school and welcomes new beginnings

Posted 5:08 pm PST

By Tyler Myerly

CORONA—Drake Jackson is one of Centennial High School’s most explosive defensive players. At 6’4” and 264 lbs he is noticeably the largest guy on the team and plays like it too. Combine that with a respectable public-school football program like Corona Centennial and it’s no surprise this senior has multiple college offers.

Drake started playing flag football at 5 years old, just like many of the kids his age. He is now a little over half way through his last season of high school football and has 14 college football offers.

With PAC-12 and BIG-10 school offers like the University of Southern California, University of Oregon, University of Washington, Arizona State University, and the University of Illinois, it’s clear to see why Drake is having a hard time committing.

“I need a family,” he said. He told me he wants a program where there is a genuine coach who is there to mentor young men in addition to coaching football.

Jackson hasn’t dialed down on a college football program just yet, and in the meantime his commitment to the Centennial Huskies hasn’t wavered either. “I want to be one of the best D-linemen to ever leave here,” Drake said when asked about the legacy he wants to leave on Centennial football.

This season alone, Jackson has 31 total tackles, 2 defensive touchdowns, 3 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, and 4 pass deflections. However, it’s the lessons both on and off the field that Drake has internalized and grown from.

“Coach Logan is teaching us how to be a man,” Jackson said. Drake spoke very highly of his four-year varsity football head coach, Matt Logan. Those are the lessons that he is ultimately looking for in a college football program.

The rest of our conversation consisted of life after football, and most importantly, family. Jackson said after football, he would most likely want to be a sports broadcaster or maybe even making video games for young kids.

When it came to family, Jackson talked about the support from his mom, dad, and the rest of his family. “They’re working hard for me so I’m just gonna’ do it right back for them,” he said. After all the hard work, Drake knows he has made his family proud and he is excited to continue making them proud.