Jackson to Evaluate Everything

Jonathan Jackson officially visited Penn State this weekend. The Philadelphia native has already taken four visits. Where do the Nittany Lions rank in his list of favorites? When will he be making his final decision?

Name:	Jonathan Jackson
Position:	DB, WR
Height:	6'1"
Weight:	185 pounds
Self reported 40-yard dash:	4.3
School:	West Philadelphia Catholic HS, Philadelphia, PA

Unlike all devout Philadelphia Eagle fans, Jonathan Jackson didn't have an all bad weekend. Although Sunday was a wash after the Eagles 27-10 loss, Jonathan and his mom spent Friday and Saturday in Happy Valley on his official visit to Penn State.

How did Jonathan like things in State College?

"It went well. I've already seen it [Penn State], so I pretty much knew what it was like. It was everything I expected, which was good."

"I can't say I didn't like anything about it."

"[The coaching staff] had nothing but positive and good things to say. They say they like me as a person."

Sophomore safety Chris Harrell served as Jonathan's host on the visit. Jackson could be teaming with Harrell in the future in the Nittany Lion's defensive backfield because Penn State is recruiting him solely as a cornerback/free safety prospect. He also had the chance to spend time with Charles Rush, Ernie Terrell and a number of other Nittany Lions and fellow official visitors.

Jonathan really wanted the chance to examine the academic facilities at Penn State. Did he like what he saw on Penn State's academic menu?

"Oh yeah. Everything was just woooooooo! Everything was great. The football situation didn't really matter, because as a football player, I'm just going to do my best to get on the field."

Although Jonathan has his GPA in order, he still needs to achieve a qualifying score on his S.A.T., which he hopes to do when he retakes the test on January 25th.

Jonathan appears done with his official visits, taking four of the NCAA allotted five. He had previously traveled to Minnesota, Syracuse, and Wisconsin earlier this winter. Iowa and Michigan State were mentioned as possible destinations for his final visit, but that now they appear unlikely.

"I don't think I'm taking anymore visits."

Jonathan admitted that even after a great visit to Penn State, he does not have a favorite yet or a clear cut date for his decision. In fact, he maintains that every school remains equal. What will Jonathan do during the next couple of weeks to make his final decision?

"Evaluate! Evaluate everything."

Did the Penn State coaching staff push Jonathan to commit while they had him on campus?

"They didn't ask me. I'm sure they would have loved me to commit. But they didn't push me."

This week will be a very important week for Jonathan, as he has three coaches coming to Philadelphia for their in-house visits.
On Monday, Jonathan has Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez, on Tuesday Syrcause's Paul Pasqualoni, and Wednesday Minnesota's Glen Mason.

What about Coach Paterno?

"He's coming next week."

Jonathan could be through with his evaluation shortly after JoePa leaves his house.

(Interview by Steve Curry)