Choctaw standout RJ Jackson RJ Jackson 6'4" | DL Choctaw | 2023 State OK has been on our radar since his sophomore season and his recruitment has been one of the more frustrating things to follow in this 2023 class. Jackson finally started getting offers and attention as a senior as he made the move from tight end to defensive end. He would sign with Tulsa but we think it never should have taken that long. He looked to be a big time prospect as a sophomore when he was playing tight end and think he can be a next level guy on offense as well. But his defensive tape is very impressive and his only full season playing defensive end, he turned into one of the top players at the position during the 2022 season.

Our final defensive prospect is just the second defensive lineman on this breakdown. And before this season, Choctaw senior RJ Jackson RJ Jackson 6'4" | DL Choctaw | 2023 State OK wasn’t known as a defensive lineman. After beginning his career as a tight end, Jackson would move this season to more of a defensive end or outside linebacker, depending on what formation you’re in. And he was an absolute wrecking ball coming off the edge and getting after the quarterback. When you look at his physical stature and combine that with strength and quick step he has off the line, Jackson’s stock as a prospect absolutely soared this season with a breakout year on the defensive side of the ball. Jackson is definitely a name that you need to know over the next month.

We wrote about Choctaw senior RJ Jackson RJ Jackson 6'4" | DL Choctaw | 2023 State OK coming into the championship game and the transition he’s made from being a tight end prospect to defensive end prospect in the state’s 2023 class. He was one of the leading tacklers for Choctaw on Friday afternoon with 11 tackles on the day. Jackson led the Yellowjackets this season in sacks and tackles for loss and has fully blossomed as a game-wrecker along the defensive line. We still think he could be an outstanding tight end to watch when it comes to being a prospect. But there’s no doubt at this point that he’s been more productive at the high school level when he plays defense and has his hand in the dirt of is coming off the edge. Jackson is definitely going to be a prospect to watch as his senior film makes the rounds in the next two months.

There might not be another player in the state that benefitted more from a position change this season than Choctaw senior RJ Jackson RJ Jackson 6'4" | DL Choctaw | 2023 State OK . When we first saw Jackson, he was a tight end that showed a ton of promise in terms of his physical abilities and that was when he was a sophomore. Fast forward to this season, and Jackson moved to the defensive side of the ball and instead of being a quarterback’s security blanket, he is causing big problems for quarterbacks that go up against the Yellowjackets. Choctaw was looking to find someone to replace the production lost by the graduation of DeSean Brown, who is now at Oklahoma State. They found it with Jackson, who leads the team in sacks by a good margin. Jackson’s recruiting stock should sky rocket in the next month.

Choctaw senior RJ Jackson RJ Jackson 6'4" | DL Choctaw | 2023 State OK has been a player that we’ve written about quite a bit over the last few seasons. He’s been a hard player to figure out because he was a monster as a tight end during his sophomore season. He’s also an outstanding baseball player. But Jackson has moved over to defensive end and things have just started clicking on the football field for him this season. Jackson makes up one half of a dominant pass rush attacks with junior Will Smith Will Smith 6'4" | 240 lbs | DL Choctaw | 2024 State OK . A big key to the game on Friday will be surrounding Jackson and Smith and how much pressure they can put on Muskogee’s quarterback, who is a star in the making.

Choctaw 2023 standout RJ Jackson RJ Jackson 6'4" | DL Choctaw | 2023 State OK has been one of the best athletes in the class when it comes to prospects for a while now. But we have been waiting to see him have the type of impact that has become an expectation of him year after year. With Jackson moving over to defense and playing more at the defensive end position, we’ve seen that emergence. Jackson has been an absolute nightmare for opposing offensive linemen, especially considering 2024 standout Will Smith Will Smith 6'4" | 240 lbs | DL Choctaw | 2024 State OK is on the other side of that defensive front. Jackson’s combination of size, athleticism and burst off the ball makes him so tough to stop from getting into the backfield.

In that same conversation with Coach Corbin before the game, we asked him what we were missing about his senior standout RJ Jackson RJ Jackson 6'4" | DL Choctaw | 2023 State OK . We’ve felt like Jackson is a top prospect in the state’s 2023 class since he was a sophomore. For whatever reason, it just hasn’t taken off the way it probably should when you consider the combination of size, speed and overall athleticism that Jackson has. First, he was a standout tight end and had an excellent sophomore season. Corbin said that he’s hoping that with Jackson moving to defensive end, that provides a spark to his recruitment as coaches see him cause problems for opposing offenses. That’s exactly what he did on Friday night as he led a Choctaw pass rush that dominated the line of scrimmage and made things very difficult for the Deer Creek offense. Jackson also had a great sequence where he came up with a big sack and then followed that up on the next play by coming up with an interception off a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage.