It’s often phrased that early enrollees in college football choose a head start with their new program over their senior prom.
For Tennessee freshman quarterback Tayven Jackson, who hails from Indiana, that adage was tweaked a bit.
“I gave up a lot of friendships, friendships with my teammates and basketball season,” Jackson said this month in a news conference, “but I think I made the right decision. Me coming here early really got me where I needed to be in fall camp.
“I really know the offense, and I’ve made great relationships with the coaches and the players, and that’s what you need to be successful in this game.”
The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder averaged 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists as a Center Grove High junior in the Indianapolis suburb of Greenwood, and he is the half brother of Indiana Hoosiers forward Trayce Jackson-Davis. An All-Big Ten performer who has averaged 16.9 points during his three-year career, the 6-9, 245-pound Jackson-Davis is the biological son of former Indiana Pacers forward Dale Davis.