Longhorns add commitment from Rivals250 DE Lance Jackson
The Texas Longhorns picked up one commitment from their junior day on Saturday night and on Sunday afternoon they added another.
Texarkana Pleasant Grove 2025 defensive end Lance Jackson, who attended UT’s junior day, announced moments ago that he has given Texas a commitment. Jackson joins 2026 running back Raycine Guillory, who announced his Texas commitment on Saturday night.
For Jackson, it’s been a bit of a long time coming to commit to Texas. He had an idea coming into this weekend’s visit that he might go ahead and commit, and he said he knew it was time once he got around the UT coaches on Saturday.
“It feels good to be able to end my recruitment and be comfortable with it,” Jackson said. “I knew I wanted to be in Austin ever since I’ve gone up there. I love (Pete Kwiatkowski) as a person and the type of coach he is.”
A Rivals250 member, Jackson chose Texas over a long list of offers that included scholarships from programs like Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas A&M, among others.
Jackson, who can play as both a tight end and defensive end, is being recruited by the Longhorns to play defense. He spent most of his time on Saturday with Kwiatkowski and then had a phone conversation with Steve Sarkisian on Saturday evening to lock in his commitment.
“Coach PK is the person I talked to the whole time. He was with me most of the beginning of the day until the end,” Jackson said. “He’s come to my school probably five times. There were a bunch of recruits there, so I got on the phone with coach Sark last night and he’s coming by the school this week.”
At 6-5 and 230 pounds, Jackson possesses a rare combination of size and athleticism, and it’s those exact traits that had so many colleges chasing his commitment. The message from the Texas coaches has been clear and direct, and it paid off on Sunday.
“Really (PK) just says to come play for a winning team. Also, they’re going to the SEC so that’s a big thing too,” Jackson said. “He tells me he wants me to play with my hand in the dirt at D-end.”
Jackson had previously visited Texas for games and for a camp but said he got a much better view of the program on Saturday’s visit. The depth of that experience, combined with his relationship with the UT staff, was enough to seal the deal with Texas.
“It was nice because I got to see everything more. I’ve only been up for a game and camp, so I got to see everything, see the weight room and all that stuff,” Jackson said.
Jackson is ranked as a four-star prospect and checks in at No. 118 on the Rivals250. He becomes the Longhorns’ fifth commitment of the 2025 class, joining Anthony Williams, Brandon Brown, Emaree Winston and KJ Lacey. Jackson is the younger brother of current Arkansas Razorback defensive end Landon Jackson.