Mizzou football lands third commitment from Montgomery, Ala., prospect

It seems as if “Bama to the Zou” can officially be called a movement Wednesday after Missouri landed the third verbal commitment by a player from Montgomery, Ala.

Sidney Lanier High outside linebacker La’Dedric Jackson, a consensus three-star prospect, is the latest player from the Heart of Dixie to pledge to the Tigers.

Jackson is high school teammates with fellow 2018 Mizzou commit James Foster II, a three-star quarterback prospect who committed in April.

Jackson is rated by Rivals as the No. 26 player in Alabama and 247 Sports pegs him at No. 35 in the state and No. 65 in the nation at outside linebacker.

He also had offers from LSU, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Cincinnati, Louisville and Purdue among others, according to various recruiting outlets.

During the Rivals era, which started in 2002, the Tigers didn’t pull a single recruit from Alabama until 2013 when another Montgomery native, Shaun Rupert, committed to the program.

Subsequently, Mizzou signed two more players from Alabama — Florence (Ala.) defensive end Walter Brady in 2014 and Bessemer (Ala.) City linebacker Jamal Brooks in February.

Brady, who was a freshman All-American after recording seven sacks for the Tigers in 2015, was dismissed on the eve of training camp last August along with defensive tackle Harold Brantley, who wound up at Northwest Missouri State last season.

Brady, who initially committed to Middle Tennessee before flipping to Mizzou late in the recruiting process out of high school, is enrolled at Middle Tennessee.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Mizzou football lands third commitment from Montgomery, Ala., prospect."