Parkers Chapel’s Dezmon Jackson eschewed an elaborate signing ceremony Wednesday when he signed a national letter-of-intent to play football at Oklahoma State University. After setting records as a sophomore running back at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, Jackson returned home but stayed on his course.
“I’m in town, training everyday and what not,” said Jackson on Wednesday. “I signed today but it was through the phone. The reason I didn’t have a ceremony is because I just have so much going on and don’t really have time to do so.”
Jackson chose the Cowboys over Tennessee, Utah, Kansas State, South Dakota and several other schools. He will enroll at Oklahoma State in January with two years of eligibility.
“Oklahoma State is a great program and an even better place. It’s a great college town and the people there are amazing and you can just feel the energy in the atmosphere and I have a great opportunity to go in and play right away and make an impact,” Jackson said.
“It wasn’t a difficult decision because they made me feel so welcomed and showed that they really wanted me. Coach (Mike) Gundy flew to my house just two days after my visit to have a sit down with my dad being that he wasn’t able to come on the visit in Stillwater due to him having to work.”
Jackson, a 6-0, 219 pounder, became the first Blue Dragon 1,000-yard rusher since 2012, rushing for 1,192 yards on 161 carries with a team-high 13 touchdowns. His rushing yards are the 11th most in single-season school history. His 7.4 yard-per-carry average ranks second in Blue Dragon single-season history.
Jackson had seven runs of 50-plus yards, four runs of 80-plus yards and two runs of 90-plus yards, including a school-record 97-yard touchdown run against Garden City.
Jackson finished the season with seven 100-yard games – a single-game high of 169 against Garden City – including the final six games he played in this season. He was a three-time Offensive Player of the Week and was the league special teams’ player of the week once.
“My excitement is through the roof and it’s all I ever think about everyday. I put in a lot of work and went through so much just to get here and that’s what makes it even more special,” said Jackson, who is happy for the early signing period so he could get the process finished.
“It is a relief because the recruiting process can be very stressful. Coaches are literally constantly calling and texting you from the time you wake up until you go to bed. There were many occasions where I would get woken up during the school week at eight or nine in the morning from coaches calling me and it just got out of hand at one point.”
Jackson was ranked as the No. 4 JUCO running back by ESPN, which rated him a three-star prospect. He is expected to immediately compete for the starting running back position at Oklahoma State.
Jackson helped Hutchinson Community College to a 9-3 record. He was a NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American.