Jackson took an official visit to Boulder last wekend after also visiting Nebraska and Kansas State the previous two weekends. All three Big 12 schools had offered a scholarship.
"He's a great player and a great kid," Santiago head coach Steve Mitchell said. "He can make all the throws and is very athletic. I coached Chad May who went on to Kansas State and did some great things there. Bernard has the same kind of arm strength but is so much more athletic and can do so many more things to hurt a defense.
"You can move the pocket with him and when our pass protection breaks down, he's able to get outside and make plays with his feet. We're all excited for him because we think he has a very bright future ahead of him."
What stood out about Colorado over the others?
"He loved all three schools he visited but felt the most at home at Colorado. He was looking for a family atmosphere and felt it at all three places. The coaching staffs were all great and he loved the program. At Colorado, he camped there over the summer so he already knew the staff pretty well and just felt the most comfortable there, that's what it came down to."
We loved Jackson at the SoCal Nike Camp where we thought he was one of the top signal callers of the day. He tested well running a 4.69 in the 40, 4.38 in the shutle, jumped 29 inches in the vertical and did 15 reps on the bench.
He's the top dual threat quarterback on the West Coast and is a perfect fit for Colorado's system. As a junior, he threw for 1,042 yards and 11 touchdowns with just four interceptions and also rushed for 600 yards and seven more scores.
The interesting thing about Jackson committing is what will now happen with San Diego quarterback Richard Kovalcheck. Kovalcheck tripped to Boulder last weekend and told us last night Colorado was a big leader. Will the Buffs take three quarterbacks this year?