As a Class of 2025 prospect, three-star running back Carter Jackson still has a long ways to go before he can sign a National Letter of Intent with a school, but he nonetheless was ready to make a decision on his future Friday as he announced his commitment to Cal.
Carter, from nearby Folsom High School, had been building a relationship with Golden Bears running backs coach Aristotle Thompson since his freshman year and had felt at home in his time around the program.
"For me, I was kind of looking at my whole recruitment process, just looking for every school, No. 1, how many people in my class have they offered; No. 2, I was looking at what type of school I want to go to and the environment that would suit me and my family the best; and No. 3, how much of a relationship I've had with the schools," Jackson told Golden Bear Report. "I took that into consideration. That's kind of how I went about doing my commitment."
As for the timing and making the decision so early in the recruiting process?
"I kind of just felt like since I'm in the smaller back kind of box or whatever, I felt for my benefit and for the benefit of my family it would be better for me to commit sooner than later," he said. "… Cal has showed me a lot of love. They've walked me through how I would fit in their offense, and it really felt like more of a home than other schools that just want me as a player -- they want me outside of being a player. They talked a lot about character and we got into some personal things with me, Coach AT, we've talked a lot. So I kind of felt like that played a big part in that -- just more outside of just playing football. And No. 2, it's a really good education at Cal."
The 5-foot-9 prospect, who previously played at Granite Bay High School, rushed for 1,568 yards and 22 touchdowns as a sophomore. He had seven games last season with at least 100 yards on the ground.
Jackson has been on multiple visits to Berkeley and is spending the day Friday back on Cal's campus paving the way for his decision.
Thompson has continued to reshape and reload the Cal running back room in recent seasons, and he already has a leg up on the 2025 class as Jackson joins San Bernardino-Aquinas three-star running back Jojo Solis as the second member of the 2025 class for Cal.
The duo currently has the Bears ranked 19th by Rivals in the team recruiting rankings for 2025.
Jackson made several trips to various schools this spring including stops at UCLA, USC and Syracuse before ultimately deciding to stay close to home to play at Cal.
Again, his relationship with Thompson -- who offered Jackson when he attended a Cal game last season -- was a major factor.
"We just continued to build that connection. I just really like coach T because when I sat down to talk to him, I asked him any question and he was really honest and got straightforward to it and elaborated more on other things I didn't ask," Jackson said. "... He really gave me just 100 percent honesty, and that's the thing I love -- honesty and just tell me straight to the facts. Don't tell how good I am; tell me what things I could work on and improve on -- he does a really good job of that.
"I also sat in his running back room and saw how he interacted with his running backs. I talked with his running backs and how they felt about him. They spoke very highly of him. Even the players that didn't see the field, they still spoke very highly of him. It was like more extended family."
