Getting to Know: Jackson Ballinger

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• Watch: Five-star receiver Easton Royal talks Florida official visit
• Happy Homecoming: Former teammates talk Hardmon and Trautwein
• Tulane player goes in-depth on Sumrall

Jackson Ballinger is a three-star tight end from Centerburg, Ohio. Ballinger received 28 DI offers but ultimately committed to Florida on February 24, 2026. 

He took his official visit to Florida the weekend of May 28th, further growing his relationships with the other members of his recruiting class and Coach Evan McKissack.

Read on to learn more about his recruiting process, how he fell in love with football, and his personal life in this edition of Getting to Know.

FOOTBALL/RECRUITING

Take me through the recruitment process that led to your commitment. What was that experience like for you?
“Yeah, so it all started for me with Florida about a year and a few months ago. I went to a spring practice with the old staff, and like Florida back then, honestly, it was probably one of my top schools going through last season. And then they had the staff change, which kind of threw a huge wrench in my plans and my top school list. I mean, there were a lot of staff changes last fall. So that kind of messed with mine and probably a lot of the other athletes’ plans on committing, and who they’re going to go to and all that. But then the new staff came in: Coach Sumrall, Coach McKissack, and Coach Faulkner. I got to build a strong relationship with them in only a few months. I’m sure a lot of the other commits could attest to it, too: how strongly they recruited us and how they were able to not only say what they’re going to do, but also show examples of how they were able to do the stuff they promised us so fast. It’s only been a couple months, almost half a year since they got down there, and they already have one of the top recruiting classes in the country. So I think it just speaks to the program as a whole and how they were able to recruit us. Me specifically, I fell in love with Coach McKissack and Sumrall—just their character and personality. I think from Sumrall all the way down is where charisma meets intensity. I just think that’s a great way to describe the entire staff, and that’s what I was looking for in a school in general. Combining that with Florida’s culture made it a perfect fit for me. So I figured out that the time was right in February, and I had no hesitation to commit. 

Which school came in second for you and why?
“My top schools were really shaky toward the end because there were a bunch of schools that I really liked but wasn’t in love with the coaches, and a bunch of coaches I really liked but wasn’t in love with the schools. So I never officially put out a top-four list, but if I had to, it would have been Stanford, Washington, Indiana, and Florida. I really love the tight end coaches at Washington and Stanford, but I wasn’t able to make a trip out there. So realistically, my next top school probably would have been Indiana, just because of familiarity, and I had been doing recruiting with them for about two years now. And I liked Coach Kane. At the point when I was still having conversations with him, I was one of the top two on his board. It kind of was weird with Indiana a little bit, just because our recruiting kind of died off just a little bit during the portal period, which I don’t blame them, just because that’s a huge window, especially for a team like them that has recently relied on the portal. But I mean, Florida stayed very consistent through that. So, that really gave Florida the lead at that time.”

What is the craziest or weirdest thing that happened in the recruiting process?
“I haven’t been asked that before. I think the whole recruiting process as a whole could be labeled as weird, just because of how things have evolved. So, I just think the whole process, being new to me and then still changing as I’m trying to learn it, that was the craziest part. But as for things like crazy that happened specifically to me, I think honestly, it might be the Indiana situation, just how I was one of the top, if not the top, guys on their board for a minute. And they were one of the top guys on my school [list]. And then we just kind of had a fall-off for a couple of months there. Then picked it right back up last season ended, like it didn’t leave off, which is not typical at all.”

Is there something or someone that inspired you to start playing football?
“I had a really unique experience of starting football. My dad played football in college, and my great uncle played in the NFL. So I always wanted to play football, but I wasn’t allowed to until I was the right age, just because my parents wanted to be smart with the whole contact sports as an elementary kid. So, I wasn’t allowed to start until fifth or sixth grade, when all the other kids my age were already playing since like second and third grade. So, I always felt like I was missing out on that. But I started in flag football when I was younger, and then finally got the chance to play tackle football. So, I think my motivation for starting to play football came from the fact that I wasn’t allowed to. It’s just kind of like, as a kid, someone tells you ‘no’ for something, then you automatically want to do it. I think that was one of the biggest factors. Then I fell in love with the sport real fast. It became my favorite sport through middle school, and then in high school, I figured that I could get recruited for it, and then it really blew up for me.”

What is your favorite football memory?
“The first one was my freshman year. It was week one, and our field had renovations, so we weren’t even allowed to play on our field. So we were at one of the neighboring schools nearby their field, but it was technically a home game. So I’m just in this different locker room and different environment. Never had a high school football game under my belt yet. And we go out there after getting hyped up in the locker room and run out of the tunnel. That was my first game, and I really hadn’t proven myself yet, my freshman year or at the beginning at least. So, I didn’t get too many snaps, but in the snaps that I did, it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever felt. Then, my next one would be sophomore year. In the playoffs, first round, we got scheduled against a team that was over two hours away from us. So, we got a charter bus and drove all the way down there. We were the underdogs. So we drove down for two hours, kicked their butt, and came back up at like 3 a.m. when we got home. And the next day, we got back on the bus again and drove to a team event. I think that weekend was just really cool. Giving me a hint at what football can be just outside of: you have a game at home, and you have a game 10 minutes away, and all that stuff. Just kind of experiencing the travel aspect of playing football, kind of a little hint at what college might be like down the road.”

What are some of your greatest strengths as a football player?
“I think I have a really solid head on my shoulders when I’m playing, and I don’t let the moment get too big. I don’t let my ego get the best of me. I don’t really get hot-headed or talk trash during games. If something happens bad for the team, I’m not focused on whose fault it was or what people think of me right now. I’m kind of focused on getting everybody else on the same page, and during practices, I understand that I may not be having the best day, but I’m sure somebody else could be having a worse day than me. So I’m going to do my best to help the person next to me. I think that personality side of me, being on the field, I think would be the biggest strength I have. But as for physical characteristics, I think I would say every tight end of this age is still developing because, I mean, you’re not really fully developed until you’re leaving college in the league, just because there’s so much that comes with this position. I’m a very strongly developing blocking and receiving tight end. I think if you turn on the tape, anybody can see that I can do both at an elite level, and I’m super competitive, too. I mean, no matter what the game is, whether we’re playing cards or I’m running a race, I’m going to do all I can.”

You received 28 offers, but chose Florida. What about UF was so appealing to you?
“Yeah, I think, like I said before, a little bit—just the characteristics of leadership and the smart, intelligent minds of all the coaches and the entire staff. I mean, from Coach Sumrall all the way down to the nutritionist. I think all of them work extremely well together, for being a new staff, and want the best for the players. At the end of the day, they are going to do what they do best to win, and they expect me to do what I do best to win. And I think by a staff having that much trust in me to help them achieve their goals and expect the same out of me that I have enough trust in them to help achieve my goals, I think that big center of trust is very important to me, and that’s what I found in them.”

What are you looking forward to working on development-wise from the coaches at Florida when you report to campus?
“I think my overall knowledge of the game. No matter if you play one of the top high school programs in the country or some small farm school, I think you always could use improvement on the game because it’s forever changing and evolving, and there’s just so much more to learn every single time you go to the next level. So I think just bettering my knowledge of the game and situational awareness will overcome a lot of physical or any type of deficiency in my game at the moment. Like if I’m going up against a D-End that might be listed as better than me or beat me out in some categories, I’m going to use my knowledge of the game and where we’re going to try to hit this play and what exactly we’re trying to do to this D-End and where I can take advantage of this situation. I want to learn how to overcome any deficiencies that might come up inside the game, just by my knowledge.”

Who have you spoken to the most from your recruiting class?
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We have a group chat. I think Davin [Davidson] started it when there were like five of us commits, and every time we get a new commit, we add them to the group chat. We’re talking in there probably every other day about something.”

Are there any players from last year’s team you’ve spoken with the most? What have you all talked about?
“The past two times that I’ve come down, I’ve been able to hang out with some of the tight ends like Micah [Jones], Evan Chieca, Lacota Dippre. I was talking to Heze [Kent]…Luke [Harpring]. I was able to hang out with Aaron Philo and Bailey receiver [Stockton] as well. Since I’ve been down so many times, I’ve been able to spend some good quality time with some of the players already.

What is your favorite professional football team?
“The Buccaneers.”

Who is your favorite player of all time?
“Not in a biased way, I think Tim Tebow is one of my favorite players just because of what he’s done off the field as well as on the field.”

Is there anything Coach McKissack has told you that’s really stuck with you?
“Yeah, I don’t want to get too into it just because it involves his personal life a little bit, but somebody close to him passed away not so long ago, and he was talking to me about it and just being able to see him kind of down to earth and vulnerable point, him being so open about what’s happening and how that’s changed his mentality on coaching and what he’s promising to me as a player and the rest of the guys in the room on how he’s going to develop us as people outside of the game too. Just really speaks to who he is as a person. I want to eventually build that trust with him and to trust him with most aspects of my life, because that’s going to be who I’m going to lean on most when I’m down there. So I think that conversation I had with him about that person that passed with him kind of gave me the very safe, comfortable feeling with him that if he cares about that person so much, I’m sure he cares about me the exact same way.”

Do you have any funny stories or memories of Coach Sumrall or Coach McKissack?
“I’m sure if you talk to anybody about Coach McKissick, they’ll always have a funny story to tell you. He is such a character. So the first thing he ever texted me, but I had no idea who he was, he sent me a text from an unknown number, didn’t even introduce himself yet. He just said something about one of the plays on my film, it was the first play, he’s like ‘stiff arm’ and ‘week 13 of the playoffs’ or something like that. And he sent like a little GIF without even introducing himself yet. That was pretty funny. And then at one of the dinners for the OVs, they were doing player introductions, and he cuts into his with a stone-cold Steve Austin edit, and then he gets up and starts hyping everybody up as well. And then the last one was, I was doing my individual presentation on my OV. One of my goals, if professional football doesn’t work out, is to go into dentistry. So, he had Coach PJ and Coach Dock [Joe Craddock] AI up a picture of me working on him as a dentist and put it on the slideshow.

What part of your game are you working on the most in your senior season ahead of coming to Florida?
“You can always get better at blocking or receiving. And I’m not shoving those off at all. I mean, I’m obviously going to continue to work on those, but I think being an upperclassman this year and kind of having a spotlight in a small town, I need to. I’m going to really try to improve my, like, leadership. And I think I’m going to try to improve my leadership and personable skills. Just so I can better help my team and community these last couple months I’m in Centerburg.”

PERSONAL

What is your major going to be?
“Yeah, I’m going to major in biology in hopes that if the NFL doesn’t work out, I’ll go to dental school after.”

If you could play a sport outside of football, which sport would it be?
“I do track, so I’m not going to say track just because that’s what I already do. I would probably do golf.”

What would be your first purchase if you got drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft?
“I would realistically need to buy a house wherever I’m going to live.”

What is one item you can’t live without?
“Probably my Bible because my relationship with the Lord is the main driving point in my life, so I always need that.”

If you’re given the AUX cord for the locker room before a big game, what is your go-to song?
“I don’t really listen to too much rap. Not because I don’t like it, but just because my resting personality is kind of more relaxed. So, I listen more to Whiskey Myers or some other country like that. If we’re just relaxing in the morning on gameday, I’d probably put on “Broken Window Serenade” by Whiskey Myers.”

What is your favorite movie and TV show?”

“Kind of a nerdy choice, but I love the Avatar Movies. TV shows just kind of go based on what I’m watching. What I’m watching right now is “Attack on Titan.”

Do you play any video games?
“Not really.”

Do you have a favorite Gatorade flavor?
“Pretty much anything but red. I’m not going to, not pick blue if it’s in the cooler.”

What’s your favorite meal?
“My Grandma’s homemade spaghetti and meatballs are hands down the best.”

If you could have dinner with anyone from any point in history, who would they be, and why?
“That one’s easy. It’s going to be Jesus. I don’t really think that one needs to be explained.”

What are three things on your bucket list?
“I would say win a National championship, start a family, and go storm chasing.”

Apple Music or Spotify?
“Apple Music.”

Waking up early or going to bed late?
“I like the mornings.”

What’s your biggest pet peeve?
“When someone makes a mistake and laughs about it.”

Quiet or outgoing?
“I’ve always been quiet, but I’m growing into a more outgoing person as I get older.”

Do you have a hidden talent?
“I can juggle…there was a period of time right after I learned it, I just would pick up really like anything, whether it was like volleyballs or calculators or literally anything.”

What’s an interesting fact that Gator Nation should know about you?
“Being from Ohio, I cannot stand the Buckeyes.” 

What are you looking forward to in college outside of football?
“Definitely meeting a lot of new people. I’m from a small town, so my selection of like-minded people is very few, down to a handful. I’ve heard stories, and I’ve already met some people that are from UF and that are committed to UF for other sports, too, that are extremely like-minded. I mean, finding a church and meeting new people that way, too, and just finding my, not just like future friends, and then maybe, I don’t know, like a wife one day. I think meeting new people is the biggest point.”

What advice do you have for young players dreaming of going to college?
“It doesn’t matter your situation. I think if you put your faith in God, you can find a way no matter what.”

What message do you have for Gator Nation?
“Whether you’re with us or without us, I mean, we’re going to win a national championship either way, so better hop on the train now.”

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