Louisville football: Taking one last look at the NCAA transfer portal
By Jacob Lane
Mark Jackson Jr. – DE/OLB
Oklahoma, RS junior**
2019 stats:1 game, 1 tackle
Another player who could be of interest to the Louisville football staff is pass-rushing specialist, Mark Jackson Jr.
Much like Pierce, Jackson Jr. is a player who has been forced to miss numerous games over the course of his career due to injury but was more than productive when he was able to see the field.
After playing in limited action in his first two seasons at Oklahoma as a four-star recruit, Jackson blossomed as a pass-rushing specialist for Lincoln Riley appearing in nine games, seven of which came in a starting capacity.
As a junior Jackson totaled 43 tackles, including seven for a loss of yards, as well as pulling down the opposing quarterback on three sperate occasions. Whether he was actually bringing down the quarterback for a sack or not, Jackson Jr. was a fixture in backfields, showing great speed, power, and technique as an outside rusher.
His senior year was a complete 180, as Jackson only participated in one game, totaling one tackle, before missing the rest of the season partially due to being in the coaches doghouse gaining an extra year of eligibility in the process.
Jackson has been on the market for some time and while there are no real reports of interest, it’s likely that he’s going end up at a high major program playing in a pass-rushing role. So why not Louisville?
The issues he had last season seem overblown as even Lincoln Riley acknowledged how hard Jackson had worked to get back in the good graces of the coaching staff, which shows he’s not someone who creates a locker room distraction.
Louisville lost seniors Boosie Whitlow and Gary McCrae as pass rushers, both of whom were solid but only saw the field in small doses, leaving them with rising junior Yasir Abdullah, who could develop into a defensive star in 2020, and incoming four-star freshman Kameron Wilson.
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Jackson Jr. may not be a player who sets the world on fire, but considering the defensive staff has stated on numerous occasions they want to keep bodies rotating in and out to stay fresh, adding someone who’s thrived on a big stage as a situational pass rusher would be a huge boost for Bryan Brown.