Quince Orchard’s Rico Jackson has had a busy offseason, and the rising senior defensive back’s profile keeps climbing.
Jackson has been working out at the University of Maryland alongside NFL wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Jordan Addison. Both are Maryland products themselves - Diggs came out of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, while Addison played at Tuscarora High School in Frederick - and both were major recruiting names during their high school days.
The interest in Jackson has been wide-ranging, too. Maryland, North Carolina, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, his father’s alma mater, are all among the Division I programs that have come calling.
Still, Jackson has already made his college choice. He committed to Indiana during his official visit to Bloomington in May.
"I'm beyond blessed," Rico Jackson wrote on X. "Thank you for everyone who gave me an opportunity and believed in me. Hoosier nation let's work!"
That decision sends him to an Indiana program that just put together a historic 16-0 season under Curt Cignetti, a run that ended with a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff national championship.
Jackson’s football roots run deep. His father, Tanard Jackson, was a standout at The Bullis School in Potomac, where he starred in both football and basketball under legendary coaches Walt King and Mike Hibbs. Though he was recruited in both sports, he ultimately chose football.
"I learned a lot from Coach Hibbs," Tanard Jackson told High School On SI. "The discipline.
The order. The structure.
He helped me really get prepared for Syracuse. That next level."
Tanard Jackson grew up in Germantown and knew the Seneca Valley football tradition well. Quince Orchard head coach John Kelley played at Seneca Valley for legendary coach Terry Changuris, and Jackson noted that if he had attended public school, he would have played there, too. "I ended up going to Bullis and I had a great four years there, basketball and football wise," Tanard Jackson recalled.
After Bullis, Tanard Jackson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He remains the only player in NFL history to record an interception against Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. He also spent a brief stretch with the Washington Redskins, where he was part of a roster that included Robert Griffin III, London Fletcher and DeAngelo Hall.
"That was RG3's rookie year so that was a good year," Jackson remembered about his time in 2012 playing for the hometown team. "That was a special group."
Back at Quince Orchard, the Cougars are coming off a 14-0 season and back-to-back Maryland state championships. Rico Jackson, a three-star recruit, is expected to be a key piece for the 2026 team alongside Pittsburgh commit Jaheim Bond and standout Ryan Drakeford.
For Rico Jackson, the path forward looks a lot like the one his father helped carve - and the lessons are still coming from home.
"He's a great mentor," Rico Jackson told High School On SI. "He's been around the league.
He knows a lot of people. He taught me how to be a great person, a great football player, and a great teammate and that's how I execute and do what I do."
In Other News...
Former Terp Deonte Banks Just Hit A Career Crossroads
Deonte Banks has already logged a heavy workload in the NFL, starting every game of his first two seasons and flashing enough playmaking ability to keep the conversation around him alive. For Maryland fans, the former Terps path has been easy to track: the raw talent was never in doubt, but the next step has always been about turning traits into steadier week-to-week production.
Now Banks is getting that chance under John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, two voices who put a premium on technique and discipline. That kind of coaching can be a reset point for a young corner, especially one trying to sharpen the fundamentals and tighten up the consistency that will determine how much trust he earns moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Former Terps Face A Big Summer League Test This Month
The NBA Summer League has become a proving ground for a handful of former Maryland players trying to turn College Park success into something more permanent. After the 2026 draft and the opening of free agency, Jahmir Young, Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Solomon Washington and Reese all found themselves in different spots, but with the same basic task: show enough in July to make teams think twice about moving on.
Young is trying to build on the strong G League stretch that helped him earn a standard contract, while Gillespie gets a chance to show the scoring and defensive traits that made him such an intriguing young guard. Washington and Reese are also in the mix with Washington and the Wizards, giving Maryland fans a few familiar names to track as Summer League games begin to sort out who is ready for a bigger role and who still has work left to do. [Read more 🡒]