2024 DL recruit set return visit after being wowed by new facility

The newly unveiled James W. Heavener Football Training Center has already begun to make a big impression on both the staff and the players of Florida football’s program, even extending to prospective prep prospects.

Among those in the latter group who recently came away impressed with the new edifice was 2024 three-star defensive lineman Kendall Jackson out of nearby Buchholz High in Gainesville, who attended Florida’s Friday Night Lights event at the end of July, which included a tour of the facility prior to its official opening.

“Before the camp started, I took a little visit around the new facility before it was finished to see where the Gators are going to be living pretty much,” he told Gators Online. “The new facility is amazing; I’m not going to lie. Just walking through there and seeing the different rooms and things they got for the players was impressive.”

The impression the new digs made on the 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound rising junior was clearly positive. He now plans on joining the myriad of recruits in attendance for Florida’s season opener against the Utah Utes, which is his only scheduled visit set for the fall so far.

Jackson also has a connection to the program through his late uncle Aubrey Hill, who was a major player during the Steve Spurrier era, as well as his mother who is a UF alumna.

If the in-state target signs with the Gators, he would join former Buchholz teammates wide receiver Creed Whittemore and defensive lineman Gavin Hill — who committed in the 2023 class — in wearing the beloved Orange and Blue.

Jackson is ranked No. 407 overall and No. 37 at his position in his class nationally according to the 247Sports composite, while the On3 consensus has him at Nos. 376 and 34, respectively. The Gators hold the lone crystal ball prediction from 247Sports while On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Florida an overwhelming favorite for the young athlete’s talents with a 99.3% chance of signing him.

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