By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Alaric Jackson had some justifiable reasons to not play football for the University of Iowa, including the nine-hour drive from his home in Detroit to Iowa City.

The offensive lineman also had numerous scholarship offers from power five programs that included Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Nebraska.

Jackson could’ve attended college in nearby Ann Arbor, Mich., and played for Michigan, like so many kids from the state of Michigan dream of doing.

Or he could’ve been a Spartan because they wanted him, too.

To have chosen either school would have eliminated a substantial amount of travel time for Jackson, and for his family. And it would’ve been yet another feel-good story about a kid staying home to play for an instate school.

It happens all the time in Iowa and Hawkeye fans love it when the Iowa coaches keep a prize recruit from leaving the state.

But Jackson never really struggled with his decision to leave the state of Michigan.

“It wasn’t tough at all because Iowa was honest with me,” Jackson said at the conclusion of spring practice this past Friday. “They were here from the beginning and told me the truth. And it worked out for the best.”

Jackson turned down the chance to be a Wolverine or a Spartan because there was just something about the environment, and the people at Iowa, that convinced Jackson it was the best place for him.

He also liked Iowa's success with developing offensive linemen under head coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa has had 17 offensive linemen selected in the NFL Draft under Ferentz dating back to 2000.

It’s hard to argue with Jackson's decision to be a Hawkeye now that he is considered one of the top offensive linemen in the Big Ten and a possible high draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft should he decide to skip his senior season.

Jackson is on course to be a four-year starter at left tackle for the Hawkeyes, and that would put him in a class all by himself

The only thing that might stop him from achieving that rare milestone is if Jackson joins a growing trend of players who leave college early for the NFL Draft.

Iowa had four players declare for the 2019 NFL Draft, and all four were selected within the first four rounds, including tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant, who were picked eighth and 20th overall in the first round by Detroit and Denver, respectively.

Jackson was redshirted as a true freshman in 2016, making him a fourth-year junior with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

But he is also 6-foot-7 and weighs 320 pounds and has quick feet and the kind of strength that is needed to excel as an offensive lineman.

And that attracts the attention of NFL teams.

Jackson also competes against All-Big Ten defensive end A.J. Epenesa in practice every day. Their head-to-head matchups have been described as iron sharpening iron because Epenesa also has NFL potential and there is talk that he could skip his senior season to enter the 2020 draft.

Both players raved about the other’s talent and potential this past Friday as a sign of respect.

Epenesa referred to Jackson as the “Big A.J.”, and that’s saying something, considering Epenesa is listed at 6-6 and 280 pounds.

“Big A.J., I would say he’s the best pass-setting offensive tackle in the Big Ten, at least the best one I’ve gone against,” Epenesa said. “Going against someone as good as him, I feel like it’s going to get my game up.”

Statistics would suggest that Jackson excels in pass blocking, and as the protector of quarterback Nate Stanley's blindside.

Iowa only allowed an average of 1.2 sacks per game last, which led the Big Ten and ranked 14^th nationally.

But Jackson still gives Epenesa the advantage over him, which is the ultimate sign of respect, and perhaps a sign that the 2019 Iowa team will have strong chemistry.

“I think he’s a better player,” Jackson said of Epenesa. “We’re both good players. Every day is a grind.”

Jackson and fellow 320-pound junior tackle and close friend Tristan Wirfs give Iowa two potential stars on the offensive line.

Jackson already has been recognized for his play as the coaches and the Associated Press both named him second-team All-Big Ten last season, while Wirfs earned honorable mention All-Big Ten as a second-year sophomore.

But there still is plenty of room for improvement, especially in the running game where Iowa only averaged 148.4 rushing yards per game last season.

Center Keegan Render and guard Ross Reynolds also have to be replaced after having used up their eligibility last season.

“We’ve just got to build better chemistry pretty much,” Jackson said. “It’ll happen over time. There are some new o-linemen. We lost some guys last year, Keegan and Ross, great leaders, good people overall that helped us a lot. This year we’ve got some new pieces coming into the line, so it’s just about chemistry.”

One of the new pieces is redshirt freshman and Solon native Tyler Linderbaum, who switched from defensive tackle to center last December. The move appears to be paying huge dividends based on what Jackson said about Linderbaum this past Friday.

“Tyler is a great player,” Jackson said. “Tyler came from the d-line to the o-line and picked up things so fast. He’s fast. He’s strong. He’s a very smart kid. He can take us to the next level if he wants to, and he well, actually.”

Kirk Ferentz apparently agrees with Jackson because Ferentz practically named Linderbaum the starting center this past Friday.

Jackson and Linderbaum are both former multi-sport stars in high school who chose to play football in college, partly because it had the highest ceiling.

Basketball was Jackson’s favorite sport while growing up in Detroit, and he thought for a while that it would also be his ticket to college.

He didn’t even start playing football until his junior year at Renaissance High School in Detroit, and that was only because his friends and the head kept encouraging him to give it a try.

“I loved basketball,” Jackson said. “I didn’t like football at all. I didn’t want to play it. I didn’t think about it. I didn’t watch it.

“In high school all my friends would say you should play football, and I’m like, no, I’m good playing basketball. But my junior year, my coach said just go out for football. Just go do it and I went out and played it and I had a good year. I started playing football my junior year of high school just to play for fun. I made a highlight tape that year and I got a lot of offers and took it seriously after that.”

Jackson is among five players from the Detroit area that were listed as starters on Iowa’s spring depth chart. The others are senior defensive tackle Cedrick Lattimore, junior defensive end Chauncey Golston, sophomore strong safety Keavon Merriweather and senior right cornerback Michael Ojemudia.

“I love those guys. I’m glad they all came here,” Jackson said.

Jackson credits Lattimore for having the biggest influence on his decision to be a Hawkeye.

“I grew up with Lattimore since I was like five years old and he came here, and I checked it out,” Jackson said. “It’s an o-line school, and it went well for me.”

Jackson knew very little about the state of Iowa before he became a Hawkeye, but his teammates who grew up in Iowa are helping to change that.

Jackson recently went on a fishing trip to Lake Okoboji in northwest Iowa with some of his teammates, and he also plans to visit Wirfs’ hometown of Mount Vernon this summer.

“Every weekend going out, hanging out, going fishing together and thing like that,” Jackson said. “Yeah, I love Wirfs.

“I have not been to Mount Vernon, but I will go this summer and hang out with him a little bit, and his mom.”