JONESBORO -- Colton Jackson was on track to play college football at Arkansas State in December of 2011 when the business of college football almost rerouted his plans.
Jackson, a 240-pound senior at Ozark High School, had committed to Arkansas State and then-head coach Hugh Freeze. But Freeze, after a 10-2 regular season, left for Ole Miss, leaving ASU without a coach and a recruiting class hanging in the balance.
"I thought I was going to lose my scholarship," said Jackson, now an all-Sun Belt guard at ASU. "I didn't know."
Gus Malzahn was hired a week after Freeze left and put together a class -- including Jackson -- that has impacted ASU ever since.