Syracuse Football: 'Cuse a finalist for 4-star Ty Jackson, nation's No. 1 linebacker

Four-star junior Ty Jackson from Florida, a top-20 national prospect and the country's No. 1 linebacker according to several recruiting services, has named his 10 finalists, and Syracuse football made the cut.

Wow. That's pretty impressive, especially since the new Orange coaching staff only offered a scholarship to him in early January of this year. On3 national recruiting expert Hayes Fawcett first reported the news of Jackson's list cut.

His group of finalists is elite. Besides the 'Cuse, Jackson's top 10 features Tennessee, Florida State, Florida, Miami, Penn State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama and Texas A&M, according to Fawcett.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Jackson has picked up more than two dozen scholarship offers from a range of high-major programs, according to his bio on the 247Sports Web site.

Syracuse football coaches remain in contention for 2025 four-star linebacker Ty Jackson.

On January 4 of this year, Jackson said via his X page that he had landed a scholarship offer from the Orange coaching staff, led by head coach and ace recruiter Fran Brown.

Per 247Sports, Jackson's full offer sheet includes college squads such as Tennessee, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi State, Missouri, N.C. State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, South Carolina, Texas A&M, UCF and Wisconsin, among others.

Jackson is a standout junior at Seminole Ridge Community High School in Loxahatchee, Fla. He put up some ridiculous numbers in the 2023 season at Seminole Ridge, which you can check out via the MaxPreps Web site.

Obviously, the competition for Syracuse football to prevail for Jackson is steep. Yet the 'Cuse just offering him early this year and now making his list of finalists is an encouraging sign.

Chad Simmons, On3's director of recruiting, had a recent piece where he discussed Jackson's recruitment. Between late May and late June, per this article, Jackson is planning to officially visit Penn State, Georgia, Florida State and Tennessee.

According to Simmons, Jackson is expected to take a visit to Miami in March, and he wants to make trips to Alabama and Oklahoma. Needless to say, it would be important for the Orange staff to get Jackson on the Hill for an unofficial or an official visit to have a real shot here.

When On3 recently updated its 2025 rankings, Jackson arrived at No. 16 nationally, No. 1 at linebacker and No. 2 in Florida. ESPN rates him as the No. 1 inside linebacker in the junior cycle.

At the time that I wrote this story, the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking had Jackson at No. 83 overall in the 2025 class.

To date, Syracuse football has one pledge in this cycle. On January 27, four-star edge and top-300 national prospect Sharlandiin Strange of Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pa., verbally committed to the 'Cuse over Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Southern California.