When the lights come on Friday night, Sumrall senior Dannis Jackson is in his comfort zone. The bigger the crowd the better.
On Monday morning, Jackson was presented with his Under Armour All-America jersey inside Sumrall High School’s gymnasium. It was a packed crowd of his classmates, friends, family and his coaches. Jackson, who’s a four-star wide receiver and committed to play at Ole Miss, was obviously thrilled to with the honor, but the attention Monday isn’t something he particularly likes.
“I’d rather just have all these people at our game or something,” Jackson said after the gym cleared out. “Go watch that. All of those people, I want that. But stuff like this, the less people the better.
“I like the attention on the field, but not the attention here.”
Jackson enjoys the lights of the football field on him, but not the metaphorical spotlight. That comes from his humble nature.
“He’s not a guy who likes being in the spotlight,” Sumrall coach Shannon White said. “You don’t have a choice nowadays when you’re that good, have offers from all over the United States and making games like this. You have no choice but to be in that spotlight. He doesn’t seek that spotlight and he doesn’t relish in it. He’s just a humble kid and just a Sumrall boy who wants to see his team have success this year. I think that’s his focus.”
The All-America game is set for Thursday, Jan. 3 on ESPN2 in Orlando, Florida. NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and former NFL coach Steve Mariucci will coach the two teams as well.
Jackson became the first player from Sumrall to receive such an honor. Combine Monday’s event with the team’s 7-0 record on the field and former Bobcat Jordan Thomas drafted to the NFL, and the football program has something special going lately.
“It’s been awesome,” White said of the past few months. “All the people involved in our program, it’s really the whole school. This is such a program-friendly school. Everything we do here is just exceptional and well supported. It’s just a big family out here. The success to our football team and players like Dannis and Jordan have brought outside attention. It’s just a special time in our school, and our football program, and we’re enjoying it.”
When Jackson was in seventh grade, White knew Jackson had game-change talent. He knew Jackson would be a star for his football team all four years of high school.
“When you watched him play in the seventh grade, he was a little different than some of the other guys,” White said. “He’s gotten better every year and he just has rare abilities as a receiver.”
Jackson will play receiver in the All-America Game, but he assumed quarterback duties as a senior for the Bobcats. In his first three years on the varsity team, Jackson caught 191 passes for 3,237 yards and 41 touchdowns. As the team’s signal caller, he’s 50-for-79 (63 percent) through the first seven games, and he’s thrown for seven touchdowns with 679 yards. He also leads the team with 776 rushing yards and is tied for first with seven rushing touchdowns.
Once Jackson started getting attention from Division I colleges and attending high-profile camps, he knew he would have a shot at getting an invite to the All-America game. He committed to the game as soon as he got the invite before his junior season.
“It’s a great honor,” Jackson said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the All-America game. To actually be selected in it, I’m just thankful. … I was hoping I’d catch an eye. I guess I did.”
Jackson Prep running back Jerrion Ealy, Horn Lake’s Nakobe Dean, Lafayette’s Brandon Turnage, Seminary’s Nathan Pickering and Jarrian Jones of Northwest Rankin are all Mississippi players slated to play in the game.
Since they’ve all attended camps together, and are sure to all play in more than one all-star game after the regular season, Jackson has become close with the fellow members of the 2019 recruiting class.
“That makes it even better,” Jackson said. “Playing with guys I know, we’ll have fun during the game and throughout the week. It’s going to be a great experience. I think we’re pretty close as a friend group. Every time we get together it’s always a good time, so it’ll be fun.”
Notable All-America game alumni include: Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones, Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston, A.J. Green of Cincinnati, Houston defensive line Jadeveon Clowney and Jacksonville running back Leonard Fournette.
