Carson Daly is trying to slow down fatherhood as his oldest son, Jackson, moves toward the end of high school. Daly said Jackson, 17, is a junior and could be graduating next year, a milestone that has him thinking less about college brochures and more about what kind of future would actually suit his son.
He made the comments at the TODAY dads’ annual Father’s Day event at Swingers Crazy Golf in New York City, where the conversation turned to the familiar scramble of college planning. Jackson has already been looking at schools and has visited Clemson, South Carolina and Georgia with Siri, but Daly said the family is also weighing a different route. He said Jackson might be better served by learning a trade, even joking that his son should become an electrician.
For Daly, the pressure is not just about where Jackson will go next. It is about how fast the window is closing. He said he tries every day to slow the hands of time in fatherhood, and he pointed to the way advice from older parents suddenly makes sense once a child is near the finish line. Two years from now, he said, Jackson could be starting college if that path wins out, but that timeline is exactly why he is pushing his son to think beyond a four-year campus.
That is where the friction sits. Jackson is still touring colleges, yet Daly is openly questioning whether the traditional university track is the best fit for him. He even said the value of a four-year degree is changing in real time, and he argued that technology and practical skills may matter more than a generic major. In one aside, Al noted that AI is not going to fix an AC system, a line that underscored Daly’s point that some jobs still depend on hands-on work no software can replace.
Daly also joked about LIU Post, saying he hopes to get an awesome condo right down the street from his son if Jackson ends up nearby. The joke lands because the decision is still unsettled. Jackson is looking at college now, but Daly is clearly trying to keep another path on the table. What happens next will come down to whether Jackson chooses school, a trade or some mix of the two before graduation arrives next year.
