It’s been a special high school football journey and recruitment for Alexandria’s special kicker/punter Daniel Jackson. The 2025er came onto the recruiting scene in explosive fashion way back as a freshman after he earned a B1G PWO in-person at the Gophers summer prospect camp, putting the state on notice that the next great Minnesota specialist was here. Since then, Jackson has completed the third-longest FG in Minnesota state history, holds the record for #1 kickoff distance average in state history, earned a boatload of personal accolades, put in enough work in the weight room to clean 270 pounds, bench 240 pounds, and squat 315, earned football offers from Cornell, Army, and North Dakota State, and now – added a 10.86 100M time to his resume. This came after an 11.07 earlier in the month, adn last season he posted an 11.19 as a sophomore for good measure. Lucky for Gopher fans, Jackson shut down his recruitment and jumped on his Minnesota PWO on May 10th, adding himself to a decorated list of instate and out-of-state commits. Not only is he a B1G-worthy specialist, the Alexandria native is also a B1G-worthy athlete. Gophers got a good one!

The best specialist I’ve seen come out of the state since Grant Ryerse, Alexandria’s star kicker/punter Daniel Jackson has been one of the more established prospects in the 2025 class after he earned a PWO in-person at the Gophers prospect camp going into his sophomore season in June of 2022. That’s a big kick (pun intended) for one’s recruiting, and flashforward to the present and Jackson is one of the more popular recruits in the state. North Dakota State offered this past September, and during the offseason, Cornell University and Army-West Point have also joined in the mix.

Here are some quick-hitters regarding Jackson, his athletic profile, and his accolades thus far:

• Multiple last-second game-winning FGs
• 52-yard FG, 3rd longest in MN high school history in 2022
• #1 kickoff distance average in MN state history
• ran an 11.19 100M time to qualify for state last June
• 52, 48, 40, double-digit FGs from 30-39
• cleans 270 pounds, benches 240 pounds, squats 315

There’s a lot to like there, and although I’m not going to claim I’m an expert on kicking and punting, it’s clear that Jackson has a big boot, is accurate from all over the gridiron, is cool, calm, and collected in high-pressure moments, and is an impressive athlete on top of it all. He 100% deserves the highest ranking I’ve ever given to a kicker, punter, or long snapper, and if you’re looking for an active recruitment to follow, just take a look at Jackson’s Twitter.

Daniel Jackson debuts as the #36 overall ranked prospect and as Specialist1.