EchoVib

BATON ROUGE, La. — CamRon Jackson had reached the point of desperation, maybe even the point of defeat. The defensive tackle had both achieved his dreams and fallen short.

Yes, Jackson had a scholarship offer from LSU. Yes, he had a chance to go play for Ed Orgeron and the defending national champions. But he didn’t keep up his end of the bargain. His grades didn’t meet the requirements, meaning he didn’t sign a letter of intent with the rest of LSU’s recruiting Class of 2020 this winter. No, he had more work to do, and even then it wasn’t clear whether LSU would still take him.

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So one day this spring in his home in Haynesville, La., a tiny town just south of the Arkansas line, Jackson nearly gave up.

“I need an A! I need an A!” he yelled.

Jackson sat with his cousin — current LSU defensive tackle Joseph Evans — working on online classes, but he kept getting a B in one class. To meet NCAA requirements, Jackson needed four A’s in four core classes: English, world geography, civics and advanced math. Four A’s would bring him to the required 2.5 core course GPA. He was still just short.

“Man, I don’t think it’s gonna work,” Jackson continued. “I don’t think I’m going to get it.”

Evans, home from LSU because of COVID-19, tried to motivate him.

“Just keep pushing. Just keep working hard,” he told Jackson.

The fine line between success and failure remained in reach.

Fast forward a few weeks to Jackson waking his parents early one May morning. Haynesville High School principal Chris Brooks had just called to tell Jackson the good news. He got his A’s. Jackson had met the GPA requirements, he said. The long nights studying until 2 a.m. to make it to LSU may have paid off.

“I was doing a lot of work,” Jackson said. “It’s a whole lot.”

There’s one spot left one in LSU’s 2020 signing class, one scholarship remaining for whomever LSU decides to give it to. Jackson is still awaiting word from LSU, which is also still awaiting word from the NCAA on a number of matters. It’s no guarantee Jackson is eligible. It’s no guarantee LSU will take the risk on an academic question mark.

Tuesday, Jackson became a high school graduate. But during an offseason already filled with questions about whether there will be a football season and what that would even look like, Jackson hopes for the answer to his own prayer: Will he earn LSU’s final spot?

That last spot in an LSU signing class has turned into a strangely revered position. LSU’s Mr. Irrelevant has become a badge of honor and maybe even a predictor for success. The program is on a run of hitting every year with the final scholarship, with seven players in a row developing into NFL players.

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In 2012 there was Deion Jones, who is now a top linebacker for the Falcons. In 2013, it was Duke Riley, now with the Eagles. The next year was Russell Gage, who also became a Falcons receiver and special-teams player. Foster Moreau took the last spot in the final seconds of 2015, and he became LSU’s No. 18 and a fourth-round pick to the Raiders. Lloyd Cushenberry went from last-second signing in 2016 to All-SEC team captain and third-round pick to the Broncos. In 2017, it was two-star receiver Justin Jefferson, who just became a first-round pick to the Vikings. And in 2018, the final scholarship was given to a graduate transfer from Ohio State named Joe Burrow.

Time will tell what will come of 2019’s Mr. Irrelevant, defensive end Desmond Little. In 2020, LSU sits with just one spot left. It signed only 22 players from high school, leaving options open for the final three scholarships. It has since used two on graduate transfers Jabril Cox and Liam Shanahan, and it’s taking its time with spot No. 25.

There’s much to be decided between now and football season, including what LSU wants to do with the final scholarship. LSU sources say the Tigers are high on Jackson, a 6-foot-6, 270-pound defensive tackle with athleticism and the kind of upside Orgeron loves. But does LSU want to take the risk on Jackson? Does it want to wait and see which graduate transfers become available? It’s taking its time as the pieces play out.

And Jackson, because of his own mistakes, has to wait and see.

“He’s been kinda stressed about it,” his mother, Latoya Turner, said. “He’s up and down, worrying about if he’s gonna get eligible or what goes on after COVID-19, anxious if he’ll be able to sign, will the season start, will his freshman year be at home online?”

Jackson received offers from Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU after his sophomore year, and by December 2018, he committed to LSU. But by August of his senior year, Brooks and the Haynesville staff made it clear he wouldn’t be able to play college football if his grades didn’t rise.

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Turner said Jackson had a 2.1 or 2.2 GPA and an ACT scale score of 14 or 15. He needed a 2.5 or a 19 to make it, she said. Jackson isn’t a troublemaker or a bad kid in the community, those around the school say, but he fell far behind academically his first two years.

“Sometimes you can’t totally fix stuff you do as a 14- or 15-year old,” Brooks said. “Kids mature, and he’s no different. He’s matured a lot.”

Why did he fall so far behind? The reason is something Brooks sees quite often in kids — and adults — in the academic world.

“I think CamRon was scared to ask for help,” Turner said. “I think he thought if he asked for help it would make him look like he was dumb or didn’t fit with the other kids. He felt like he had to rush some things because other kids learned it faster than he learned it.”

He wasn’t able to sign with his fellow commitments in December, and then in January, Orgeron came to his home and gave him a mandate. It was a mandate that Jackson now says helped him believe he could do it.

“He was telling me, ‘Just go in there and get your work done,’” Jackson recalls. “Once I was eligible, I was going to be signing.”

Orgeron also explained the similarities in situations between Jackson and Justin Jefferson. Jefferson, like Jackson, wasn’t a highly rated recruit, but LSU liked him. Plus, Jefferson was the younger brother of two LSU players. But Jefferson remained ineligible through summer 2017. He didn’t get clearance to join the program until August, a few days into LSU preseason camp.

Jackson looks at the Jefferson story as a sign of hope, both for reaching his academic goals and for what a kid in his situation can become. Not long after that meeting, though, Jackson began to lose that hope. He became aggravated, coming home some days and lying down, not wanting to work anymore.

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Turner started preparing him for the possibility it won’t work out, not wanting her son to put all his eggs in one basket. She suggested looking elsewhere or going to a junior college. She informed him of all the star NFL players who started at the juco level.

Then, Evans came back home.

“Joseph made him get right to work,” Turner said.

The two didn’t even know they were cousins until high school, when Jackson began competing for playing time behind the sophomore Evans. They barely talked until that year, and soon Jackson trusted Evans. They started talking and working out together. They became close. By Jackson’s sophomore year, he earned a starting spot and made a name for himself in the state playoffs. That was when recruiting sites like 247Sports paid him more mind. Next came the SEC offers.

Jackson started getting a little ahead of himself, thinking about that exciting future without handling the present business first.

“It was nerve-wracking sometimes,” Turner said. “He had to get off the camera. We had to tell him, ‘You’re not there yet. Take it one step at a time. You have to finish high school first. Enjoy life of being a kid first.’”

All of these factors left him still behind this year. But he had a village come together to get him eligible. There were Turner and Brooks, there were his counselors and coaches, there was Evans. Evans pushed him to keep studying and improving. He helped him with things he struggled with.

“He kept me motivated that whole time,” Jackson said.

And then, one week ago, Jackson posted a screenshot on Twitter of his grades. Four A’s. He did it.

“He’s done a lot of work and grown up a good bit,” Brooks said. “He’s worked really hard.”

Now comes the hardest part: Knowing you’ve done your part but still not being sure it’s enough, waiting to see what happens with moving pieces no longer in your control. Brooks said they’re waiting to hear from LSU and waiting to see what the NCAA requirements will be. So much is in flux because of schools going remote during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brooks doesn’t even know what will happen with the ACT yet. LSU doesn’t know, either.

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Plus, there’s the chance that Jackson is eligible and LSU gives his spot to someone else. He didn’t take care of his part by signing day, so the spot was not guaranteed.

Brooks has seen many scenarios throughout his academic career. He was at North Webster when Devin White roamed the halls. He was at Haynesville for Evans. Now, there’s Jackson.

“Everybody has a different path,” Brooks said. “Sometimes, kids come in as freshmen, and they might struggle. Sometimes, kids dig themselves a hole they have to get out of.”

Now Jackson sits in Haynesville and waits. He’s done what he can. The rest will come with time.

“He still has a chance,” Brooks said.

(Top photo courtesy of CamRon Jackson’s family)

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