Jackson has big night in honor of late grandfather

Tallahassee (Fla.) Rickards' 29-20 victory over Wakulla Thursday night was bittersweet for South Carolina cornerback commitment Tavyn Jackson.

The key division win was Rickards first over Wakulla in several years as Jackson made multiple big plays with South Carolina assistant Mike Peterson on to watch.

But Jackson played the contest with a heavy heart in honor of his late grandfather who passed away earlier this week.

"Sadly, my granddad passed earlier this week, so it was kind of like I had to do something, I had to show out for him."

Show out indeed. Jackson collected two interceptions, both in the second half, a forced fumble, a sack and six or seven tackles in his best game of the season.

"It was a big motivation," Jackson said. "Going into the game, my coach talked to me. He said make this one out for him, if anything, this being your last home game, make this one for him, and that's exactly what I did."

Jackson, who committed to Carolina this summer, called the night perfect.

He was happy to see that Peterson, his area recruiter, made the trip to see him play.

"It shows that they haven't lost interest," Jackson said. "Most recruits, they haven't heard from their coaches, and then they end up decommitting. I talk to the coaches every day. Coach T-Rob, Coach Muschamp, Coach Peterson, I talk to them almost every day. So that he came down, flew down, and took the time out of his schedule, it shows me I'm still a priority for them."

"Whenever I talk to Coach Muschamp, it's exciting, it's like you haven't seen your cousin in a long time, and it's just like, 'Oh, hey!" Jackson added. "And Coach T-Rob, he's just like an uncle, he asks you how you've been and this and that. But it's always a good conversation when I talk to them."

The 5-foot-11, 173-pounder has been impressed with the South Carolina defense this season.

"One thing I can say, wherever they go, their defense is going to be an impact on the team," Jackson said. "The defense really runs the team itself. Wherever Muschamp and T-Rob and everybody else is, the defense is going to be on point."

Jackson, who initially planned to enroll early, says that's no longer the case.

He plans to take some official visits later in the process, but remains committed to the Gamecocks.

"I haven't really been talking to anybody to the point that I would jump off (of the commitment)," Jackson said. "I've got an official to Maryland, I'm going to take an official Oregon State, and a South Carolina official. There are (other) coaches trying to talk to me. I've talked to a Florida coach, a Georgia Tech coach. It's kind of just the same thing."

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