LSU adding commitments
Janzen Jackson obviously does not fear competition.
Jackson, an All-State safety at Carencro as a junior, committed to LSU Saturday, 17 days after the Tigers signed six defensive backs for 2008, including the nation's top-rated cornerback. Jackson will likely play cornerback in college.
A two-year starter at Carencro, Jackson will play his senior season for Barbe High School, where he and his father, Lance Guidry, the former Carencro coach, now live. Guidry accepted a position on the McNeese State football staff as secondary coach and assistant head coach.
The Tigers also received a fifth commitment for 2009 with the addition of Bastrop defensive tackle Josh Downs.
"You're going to have to play against the best anyway, so you might as well play with them than against them," Jackson said Saturday after committing to LSU Coach Les Miles during a Junior Day visit to Baton Rouge.
"I really don't like playing against trash," Jackson said. "I like playing against people that are as good as me if not better. That is only going to make you better. I feel like I need to play with the best."
LSU signed four cornerbacks Feb. 6, including Patrick Johnson of Pompano Beach, Fla., Blanche Ely High, who was rated as the nation's No. 1 corner prospect for 2008 by Rivals.com and Scout.com.
"Janzen doesn't fear competition," Guidry said. "He doesn't care. We didn't concern ourselves with who signed where. He's just going to go in and compete. . . You can't walk away from competition because you're going to face it your whole life."
Jackson also is one of the state's fastest hurdlers and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds Tuesday at Barbe. He has a vertical leap of 37 inches.
Jackson intercepted five passes and made 92 tackles, 53 solo, as a junior. He broke up 12 passes, caused two fumbles, recovered a fumble and blocked seven kicks.
Jackson is expected to be academically qualified with a 3.2 grade-point-average in core classes a 3.4 overall GPA, Guidry said.
"We knew (he was going to commit to LSU)," Guidry said. "We talked about it. We just decided to wait and do it over here. (LSU's coaches) said they're going to sign one cornerback this year, and that's Janzen. They may sign (another) one late if they feel like they need one, but for right now it's just one. They know that Janzen is a physical guy who can cover. He's been at the top of their board since last year, and they said they got the guy they wanted."
"I liked LSU's tradition," Jackson said. "The tradition really is rich there. It's not too far from home and that's a big plus. They just won a national championship. They really showed a lot of interest in recruiting me. It wasn't just nonchalant. It was real interest. I liked that about them."
LSU is the only school to offer Downs (6-1, 260) a scholarship. Downs, a starter on Bastrop's Class 4A state championship team last season, still needs a test score but has a qualifying core GPA.
"I've been a fan of (LSU) for a long time," Downs said. "They have a great athletic program. There's no question about how great their program and academics are."
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