Florida D back commits to Herd

HUNTINGTON -- A couple of recruiting seasons ago, an undersized prospect promised to produce.

Darius Marshall since has done just that, leading Marshall University's football team last season with 1,095 rushing yards and five touchdowns. The Thundering Herd might well have secured the secondary equivalent of Marshall with the verbal commitment of Rashad Jackson.

The junior college transfer cornerback sizes 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, but Jackson is more than proven, according to a knowing source. Jeremy Richardson, who coached Jackson both at national power Belle Glade High School (Fla.) and Joliet Junior College (Ill.) endorsed the physical defensive back.

"Marshall is getting a cornerback that will work his butt off," Richardson said. "He's a true football player and he loves the game. He's very aggressive."

But how about the size? Conference USA is a pass-happy league featuring long wide receivers. Jackson is accustomed to assumed mismatches, Richardson said, and welcomes the attention.

"Teams like to try to pick on him and that's made him a lot tougher," he said. "He goes against bigger opponents but once he gets his hands on you, it's over."

Jackson, the son of former National Football League player Rickey Jackson, spent much of his high school and junior college career specializing in single coverage. Such background fits Marshall defensive coordinator Rick Minter's scheme well, which features blitzes and a dependence on cornerback coverage.

"The biggest reason why he pursued Marshall was an opportunity to play on an island," Richardson said. "He likes to play that play way and Marshall is getting a steal."

Again dismissing concerns about a 5-9 cornerback, Richardson said Jackson has earned a NCAA Division I-A scholarship.

Belle Glade particularly and the surrounding Florida region in general annually produce numerous high-profile prospects. Jackson more than held his own on the high school level and production continued at Joliet, leading to his verbal commitment.

"He comes from a football background and at Belle Glade, he comes from an area where all the guys are pretty much top notch," Richardson said. "He's been playing against Division I-A athletes since he was 14.

"It's not like he hasn't been tested. He's gone against wide receivers who are at Miami (Fla.), Georgia, LSU. He's gone against them every day. He's been tested."

Jackson joins Riverside High School wide receiver Raheem Waiters and Robert E. Lee H.S. (Va.) lineman A.J. Scott in the Thundering Herd's prospective recruiting class of 2010.