3-star Alabama linebacker La’Dedric Jackson commits to Missouri

And just like that, Missouri’s got its linebacking corps for the 2018 recruiting class. The Tigers landed their third LB commit since Friday when La’Dedric Jackson announced his school choice on Wednesday.

Jackson, a 6’2, 198-pound, three-star outside linebacker who claimed offers from nearly half the SEC — Kentucky, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and LSU (!) — becomes not only the third linebacker to commit in recent days (joining Texas prospects Chad Bailey and Cameron Wilkins); he also becomes the third Montgomery, Ala., prospect to commit as well. Quarterback commit James Foster II has been on board for a while, and athlete Cameron Taylor joined the class last weekend.

Foster has been working hard to get the #BAMAtotheZou trend started for this class, and the efforts are bearing fruit. And Missouri appears to still have a fighting chance at three more Montgomery prospects: four-star offensive lineman Tank Jenkins, four-star defensive lineman Alfred Thomas, and three-star cornerback JaKorey Hawkins. After all the focus on Missouri prospects early in this recruiting cycle, it’s beginning to look like players from Texas and Alabama will be defining the class as much as anything.

But back to Jackson. He has a different build than Bailey and Wilkins — shorter and lighter — but on his highlight film, you pick up on one thing very quickly: nobody falls forward when they’re tackled by him.

Jackson is Missouri’s 11th known commitment for 2018 and the sixth since Friday. It’s hard to say for sure how big this class will turn out to be, but expect the coaching staff to focus pretty heavily on the trenches with a lot of the remaining scholarships. Regardless, WELCOME, JA’DEDRIC.