By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Josh Jackson has a decision to make that just two months ago would’ve seemed implausible.

Iowa’s fourth-year junior cornerback has to decide if Saturday’s game against Purdue will be his final appearance at Kinnick Stadium.

Jackson has to decide if he is ready to move on to the NFL where he could potentially earn enough money to buy a lifetime of financial security.

He has to decide if he is ready for football to be a business instead of just a game that pays for his college education.

But Jackson doesn’t have to decide right now. And even if has made a decision, he doesn’t have to share it with the media, nor should he.

Reporters have been asking Jackson for the past few weeks about whether he plans to return for his senior season.

He was asked again on Tuesday and gave the perfect answer with Iowa preparing to honor the 18 seniors on the current team before the Purdue game.

“I’m just happy that we have another opportunity to come out and play Purdue for senior week and be able to send those guys off the right way,” Jackson said. “So that’s really the most important thing, just try to prepare this week really hard and try to play our best for the seniors.”

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Jackson’s stunning rise from reserve defensive back last season to star cornerback this season has happened so suddenly and so convincingly that it probably caught everybody, including Jackson, by surprise.

Jackson wasn’t on any NFL draft boards when the season started, but he is now after just 10 games in which he has been a lock-down cornerback and a big play waiting to happen.

Jackson leads the country with seven interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns against Wisconsin last Saturday, and with 23 passes defended. He also has five interceptions in the last two games.

Jackson’s stock might never be higher than it is right now.

That’s why it wouldn’t surprise me if Jackson ultimately decides to forgo his senior season. And who could blame him?

His case is different than the circumstances surrounding former Iowa cornerback Desmond King in 2015 because Jackson is a fourth-year junior and will graduate in May. King was only a third-year junior in 2015 and he still had one semester left in college when he decided to return for his senior season.

King was a hot commodity after winning the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top collegiate defensive back in 2015 season.

But he didn’t project as a first or second-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft, whereas Jackson has been projected to go as high as late in the first round.

King made all-Big Ten as a senior in 2016, but his interceptions dropped from eight in 2015 to just three in 2016.  That was largely due to teams not wanting to risk throwing King's way after his breakout junior season.

King is now a rookie with the Los Angeles Chargers after being selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft.

The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Jackson is also about two inches taller than King, and NFL teams might find that appealing.

What they both have in common besides quick hips and good ball skills is a knack for making big plays at pivotal times.

Selfishly, I hope Jackson returns for his senior season because it’s fun and a privilege to cover somebody with his immense talent.

Iowa’s secondary also would be loaded with four returning starters should Jackson decide to come back.

There are benefits to returning to school and to leaving early.

Jackson could further his education, build on his reputation and be a key piece for an Iowa team that looks pretty strong on paper for next season.

But there is also the risk of being injured in college and having that effect Jackson’s draft status.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz will certainly play a role in Jackson's decision. Of course, Ferentz would like for Jackson to return for his senior season. But Ferentz ultimately wants what is best for his players.

So if Ferentz is convinced that Jackson would go early in the 2018 NFL draft, it seems likely that Ferentz would encourage Jackson to move on.  

My gut feeling is that Jackson, a native of Corinth, Texas, will leave early for the NFL because he already will have graduated from Iowa and because it would be hard to match what he has accomplished this season.

It’s hard to think of an Iowa player who has improved more from one season to the next than Jackson.

Former star quarterback Brad Banks made a similar ascent as a senior in 2002, but he never projected as an NFL quarterback.

Jackson came to Iowa to get an education and to play football.

He probably dreamed of playing in the NFL, but until this fall, it was just a dream and considered a long shot.

But a lot has changed since September.