{"id":11567601,"date":"2025-07-19T06:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T10:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11567601&preview=true&preview_id=11567601"},"modified":"2025-07-19T11:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T15:18:11","slug":"rion-jackson-becomes-top-football-recruit-at-annapolis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/19\/rion-jackson-becomes-top-football-recruit-at-annapolis\/","title":{"rendered":"Annapolis\u2019 Division I football prospect Rion Jackson glad he stuck with Panthers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rion Jackson wasn\u2019t initially planning to go to Annapolis. An eighth grader fielding offers from St. Frances Academy and St. Mary\u2019s for football didn\u2019t need to stick with the public school route.<\/p>\n

Three years later, Jackson\u2019s flush with esteemed offers from Division I powers<\/a> \u2014 and glad he stuck with the Panthers.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder with an 82-inch wingspan enters his third high school season with a haul of offers that most other kids could only dream of receiving. Georgia, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Auburn and Penn State headline the lineup, along with Maryland, Duke, Nebraska, Tennessee and others.<\/p>\n

ESPN ranks the edge rusher as the No. 196 overall 2027 prospect<\/a>. 247Sports\u2019 composite rankings already place the rising junior at four stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s explosive and very quick. He\u2019s long and putting on more weight. And he\u2019s only 15 years old,\u201d Annapolis coach Dewayne Hunt said. \u201cThe upside of his potential is through the roof, and clearly coaches see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Needless to say, Jackson\u2019s disappointed quite a few private schools that\u2019ve reached out this summer, but jumping ship is not in his makeup. He knows a player willing to devote four years to a single program is an endangered species, from college down to youth ball.<\/p>\n

During visits to Annapolis, multiple college coaches offered praise for Jackson\u2019s loyalty before anything else, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople proclaim Annapolis as a \u2018bad school.\u2019 There\u2019s nothing bad about it. It\u2019s no different than any other school,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cCoach Hunt stayed down with me since the beginning. So I\u2019m going to stay down with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt always read the potential in Jackson\u2019s long limbs and height while he competed for Cape Youth Football. The coach told the young player that if he worked hard, he could be an All-American. Then, he relegated the freshman to junior varsity to shape his \u201craw talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson \u201cdidn\u2019t have nothing but a smile\u201d on his face, putting in his hours in the JV uniform. When varsity called him up for a 2023 playoff game against Dundalk, Hunt knew Jackson was ready. You could \u201csee it in his eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Annapolis
Annapolis High School rising junior Rion Jackson has fielded some of the best Division 1 offers a football player can get, from Georgia to Notre Dame. (Paul W. Gillespie\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI just knew something was going to happen,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n

He made that \u201csomething\u201d happen. In his sophomore preseason, Jackson served on the scout team for defense and found his way onto the field however he could: running with the kickoff, playing second-string tight end. He wanted to prove to his team he could be solid anywhere, not just in his natural position backing the defensive line.<\/p>\n

The Panthers coaches picked Jackson over a senior for a starting spot by the first regular season game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work ethic he came into the summer with made him better, a student of the game,\u201d Hunt said. “He had talent and athleticism, but now he understands it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson recorded four tackles for loss and the game-winning tackle on fourth down to secure Annapolis\u2019 first victory over Old Mill in decades. Then in mid-October, Jackson made history again when he secured his Panthers’ narrow triumph over Class 4A power Broadneck.<\/p>\n

Quarterback CJ Watkins had his Bruins on Annapolis’ 30 with less than a minute left. On third down, Jackson sprang off his rush to catch a Broadneck offensive lineman and failed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had me, so I locked him out and jumped up. That\u2019s what I resort to because I do have a lot of bat downs,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-4 sophomore leapt before Watkins and batted his pass attempt down.<\/p>\n

\"Annapolis'
Annapolis' Rion Jackson, far left, made a key play to ensure the Panthers' win over Broadneck on Oct. 18, 2024.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was running around, hype, but I looked back to make sure I didn\u2019t get a flag for taunting,\u201d Jackson said with a smile. \u201cI knew, after that game, I\u2019d be getting a call from somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n

He finished the fall with 50 total tackles, 16 for loss, as well as nine sacks, nine pass breakups, a forced fumble and 13 deflections.<\/p>\n

Morgan State arrived to offer another Panther, or so Jackson thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work,\u201d Jackson said, \u201cwas finally paying off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt spread praise of Jackson around the county, but compared against older players, his accomplishments were largely underrated. Anne Arundel public school coaches consigned him to their 2024 Second Team All-County list instead of First Team. He failed to make the Capital Gazette 2024 Football All-County teams, too.<\/p>\n

Hunt got the sense people locally didn\u2019t believe in his prospect. But in the spring, sentiments began to shift \u2014 because college coaches did.<\/p>\n