SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Four-star linebacker Devon Jackson had just committed to Oregon at the start of October, confident that he had made the right choice from his long list of offers.

What he didn't expect -- nor did anyone, really -- was that head coach Mario Cristobal would leave for the Miami job after the season and the coaches who had recruited him would be gone before he even arrived on campus. (Co-defensive coordinator/ILB coach Ken Wilson left in December to become Nevada's head coach.)

Oregon hired Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning as its new head coach just days before the early signing period, but Jackson held firm and inked his National Letter of Intent.

As he explained this week while competing at the All-American Bowl, the reasons he initially chose the Ducks were still in place regardless of who would be coaching the team -- but that they hired a heralded defensive coordinator to take the reins was a bonus.

"It was difficult, like everybody else. You don't know who the next head coach is, a lot of people actually think Oregon took a little bit longer than most [coaching hires]," Jackson said of the uncertainty that followed the coaching change. "Some people just rush the process -- we need a head coach -- but they trusted the process. I just stuck it out, I got a defensive coach, I'm getting a defensive staff, I'm a defensive player so you've got to trust the process and I think just put your faith in God. And look what happened."

Watch Duck Sports Authority's full video interview with Jackson from the All-American Bowl and read more below:

Jackson, who is ranked the No. 24 OLB in this 2022 recruiting class, out of Omaha, Neb., said USC, Auburn and Arizona State were the schools he heard from trying to flip his commitment during that time of uncertainty. ASU interested him the most, and there were some questions he had to work through, but ultimately he stayed patient.