Donovan Jackson is the new guy on Ohio State’s offensive line in 2022, and he knows that means he’ll be in the spotlight.

For a lineman, that can be a mixed blessing.

“Offensive linemen are only noticed when it's not working,” Jackson said.

Often, a lineman has to be dominating to be noticed for the right things. Jackson has that potential.

Coaches and teammates have gushed about few players this spring more than the sophomore, who’s penciled in at left guard.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson invoked All-Pro Trent Williams, whom Wilson coached at Oklahoma, when asked about Jackson

“That's probably the best player I've ever been around,” Wilson said. “He's ridiculous. Donovan's not there, but he's got some skills that are like, wow, that's not an O-line skill. That's an athletic skill.”

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Jackson arrived at Ohio State in June from Texas rated as the No. 19 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports.com. He impressed from the start with his talent and maturity.

“He didn’t practice like a guy that just got here out of high school,” Wilson said. “He’s not practicing now like, ‘This is my first spring.’ ”

Jackson earned spot duty last season as an extra blocker on obvious run plays. But while others raved, Jackson was self-critical.

“I would watch myself on film, and I realized I had to do better,” he said. “I came in and asked other guys what I could do to get better.

“At the end of last year coming into this year, I had to mature as an individual and as a football player, and I felt I wasn’t at that point I needed to be if I wanted to be a starter at Ohio State.”

Jackson dedicated himself to improving how he studied film so he would know what everyone was doing and not just himself. He made sure he got proper sleep. He heeded strength coach Mickey Marotti’s request to gain weight, adding 12-15 pounds after playing at 300 last year.

With a wingspan of about 7 feet, Jackson can play bigger than his 6-4 height. He can already do 28 reps in the 225-pound bench press.

“He’s a freak athlete,” center Luke Wypler said. “He’s probably one of the fastest, strongest guys I’ve seen at his size. It's unbelievable, and I'm just excited to be able to share a field next to him and get to see him move in action this year.”

Paris Johnson Jr., who’ll play aside Jackson at left tackle, also raved about him.

“He's a fast learner, and he's tough and fast," Johnson said. "He’s the type where he makes one mistake and then he never makes it again. I tell him all the time, ‘I'm so glad you're over here.' because I can play and I'm not thinking about anything else except my job because I know that he's going to be there (doing his).”

Jackson was expected to play right guard this season, but coaches decided to have him and Matt Jones flip sides. Jackson played left tackle in high school, so the move to that side suits him.

Jackson welcomes the responsibility he faces in protecting quarterback C.J. Stroud and opening holes for TreVeyon Henderson and the other Buckeye running backs.

“When the snap is going to happen, I feel like I go into some type of zone almost,” he said. “I feel the team is relying on me, the O-line is relying on me to get a push, Tre is relying on me to make a lane. I feel like I have to put it on my back as an Ohio State offensive lineman to get that person out of there. The strain of it is what I really appreciate.”

Jackson said he doesn’t merely want to block defenders.

“I want to crush him,” he said. “I want to run through him. I want to go to him and get to the second guy past him. But having that responsibility is what I really love.”

Jackson is still learning, so growing pains are to be expected. But the Buckeyes believe he has a chance to be special.

“Donovan's very athletic,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “He's very smart, a great young man. Now it's about acquiring that discipline and skill to play guard at the highest level. He can do it. He’s very conscientious, so the more reps he gets, the better he's going to be.”

Bill Rabinowitz covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at brabinowitz@dispatch.com or on Twitter @brdispatch.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football left guard Donovan Jackson poised to excel