Remember how Janzen Jackson, the LSU commitment, delayed his announcement yesterday? Supposedly it was just to wait on his mother to arrive for his announcement, and no one really thought anything of it. Oh sure, both Alabama and Tennessee had came on strong for Jackson -- and his father, who had been an assistant coach at McNeese State in Lake Charles had just taken a job with Miami (Ohio) -- but nevertheless he said he would still stick with LSU as of the day before National Signing Day.
But apparently not. In a very big surprise, Jackson today spurned LSU and signed with Tennessee. All in all, it's a very big coup for the Vols, and a big loss for LSU. I certainly wish we could have gotten Jackson after striking out on Darren Myles, but it is what it is, and I think this one definitely serves notice that Tennessee does plan on branching out into the Louisiana area with Ed Orgeron on board. And furthermore, it goes to show, if you haven't gotten the message already, that no matter what a prospect says, and regardless of how close he says it to National Signing Day, things are never over until the ink dries on the dotted line. You have a lot of Signing Day surprises every single year, and this one is no different. Next year will be no different either.
Finally, this does help Alabama in the recruiting rankings. It gives us a larger margin of victory on Rivals, it bumps us up to second with Scout.com, and it very well could leapfrog us over LSU for the number one spot with ESPN.