Jackson Norwood

By Lee Brecheen

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Class 2026 OL/DL Jackson Norwood Patrick Taylor High School (New Orleans Area)

One of the biggest sleeper linemen in the Class of 2026, to me, is Jackson Norwood of Patrick Taylor High School. This kid has the feet, toughness, and frame to be a DI signee, and not only that, but a starter at that level, and could end up a big-time player at the next level.

Jackson is a player before the portal that would have had several DI offers before his senior season. If you saw this kid play in a full game, you would think he was built like an SEC starter right now. This kid is mostly a Defensive Lineman for his high school, a rare 4-year starter, and could also become at the next level an Offensive Guard or Offensive Tackle because he is so Athletic and strong at 6-3, 265 pounds, chisled build.

Jackson has a 3.57 GPA and an ACT score of 30. He would like to major in engineering to change the world where it is as a mechanical or biomedical engineer. His dad Everett Norwood played college football for Northwestern State, his uncle Ralph Norwood played college football as a starting Offensive Tackle for LSU, high school O.P Walker and went to the NFL and played for the Atlanta Falcons in the same draft as Deion Sanders. He is also strong in the weight room with maxes in Bench Press 365 pounds, Squat 490 pounds, and clean and Push Jerk 315 pounds. Also a Black Belt in Karate nd Taekwondo. And also is a novice at playing the Guitar.

Quotes below from Jackson Norwood Patrick Taylor High School.

“If given the choice, I would play Defensive Line with hesitation in college. On either side of the ball, you get the chance to dominate the guy in front of you, then tackle the guy he was protecting. There is no better feeling than to do that,” said Jackson Norwood.

“Everything runs through the Defensive Line. Without us, nobody is stopping the Offensive Line from attacking the  Linebackers. Without us, there are no tackles for loss or sacks. We make the biggest impact on the line, and that’s what I love about it. I love playing the position of Defensive Line.”

“The starting 4 on the Defensive Line include me, Hunter Smith, J’Shad Paddio, and Bryce Brazier. We’re all full of talent, so we focus more on our technique. Hunter is the perfect mix of speed and power, so he’ll fly from the boundary to the field and pop the ball carrier. He had around 94 tackleslast season playing Defensive Line.J’Shad is also strong and fast and his main focus seems to be becoming even stronger and faster along with enhancing technique.Bryce is a very big and strong man, but his main issue is controlling how his body moves and where his hands go. Our Defensive Line coach, Earl Johnson, has made us all at least 3 times better than when we started. Everything seems slower now than before, and yet we’re all faster.”

Patrick Taylor High School provides a great environment to improve in most areas of life. The teachers I have known have always made me better at a certain subject. The fact that it’s not as big and noisy as other schools helps you focus more. As far as playing football there, it has made it easy to form a quick family bond with just about every teammate and coach; we have each other’s back.”

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“I currently have offers from Louisiana Christian and Millsaps College. I have a good amount of schools scouting me and keeping in contact, like Tulane, Nicholls State, UL, Northwestern State, McDaniel, Maine Maritime Academy, and St. OlafII have visited Tulane, UL, and Nicholls State campuses and watched at least one game. I plan to still visit Tulane, Nicholls State, Louisiana Christian, and McDaniel soon to see them play in person.”

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“The two colleges I grew up liking as a kid are Tulane and LSU. As a kid, I didn’t specifically know much about the schools besides that they were very popular, had great Athletes, and Academic programs. My main reason for liking those schools as a kid back then was their popularity,” said Jackson Norwood.

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Lee Brecheen, owner of Louisiana Football Magazine since 1997, and www.lafootballmagazine.com (Check out both players in the Warren Easton team preview in Class 5A under 2025 Football Preview still on the website). Also, make sure to hit the free Subscribe button to our TV Show on YouTube (The Sports Scouting Report with Lee Brecheen) to help the show grow and promote more players.

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