Prairie View A&M First to Offer Pleasant Grove’s Jackson Pace

The first Division I scholarship offer came in for Pleasant Grove 2017 tight end Jackson Pace.

Prairie View A&M officially made Pace a recruiting target, the Hawks' standout announced via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.

Prairie View A&M completed its 2015 season with an 8-2 record and finished second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Grambling State finished first overall and competed in the same West Division, so the Panthers did not qualify for the SWAC championship game.

Texas State, an FBS competitor, handed Prairie View A&M its only other loss of the season.

SWAC teams do not participate in the FCS playoffs. The SWAC winner in the conference championship game faces the winner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for an interconference championship in New Orleans called the Celebration Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The winner of the Celebration Bowl is widely regarded as the historically black colleges and universities’ national champion of the season.

Pace (6-3, 209) has played on both sides of the ball for Pleasant Grove, at tight end and defensive end. He competed at the fourth annual ETSN.fm + APEC Football Recruiting Combine in Tyler on May 22.

The PG playamker put up seven reps on the bench press at 225 pounds, and recorded a laser-timed 4.89-second 40-yard dash.

Pace helped Pleasant Grove nail down the final playoff spot out of District 6-4A Division II in 2015. The Hawks' run ended with a 40-36 bi-district loss to Gilmer, a game in which PG led at one point, 36-21.

The Hawks will compete with Gilmer in the new 7-4A Division II this fall, along with Atlanta, Gladewater, Pittsburg, and Spring Hill.

Pace, like all high school football prospects preparing to enter their senior year, will become eligible to sign with any program that offers them on Feb. 1, 2017.