COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland head coach Michael Locksley landed arguably his most important recruit since returning to College Park on February 18, when Virginia Tech graduate transfer quarterback Josh Jackson announced via Twitter that he had committed to the Terps.
After having just missed out on the Jalen Hurts sweepstakes, Locksley wasted little time in pursuing Jackson, who was a little over a year removed from a record-breaking freshman campaign with the Hokies in which he threw for 2,991 yards and 20 touchdowns while helping lead the team to a 9-4 record.
And while Jackson basically had his pick of schools once he had entered the transfer portal last winter, it was his father, former Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson, and his relationship with Locksley that helped set things into motion for Maryland.
“I had prior connections with my dad,” Jackson told reporters at Maryland’s media day August 2. “Him and Coach Locksley have known each other for a very long time; they say 20 years, who knows how correct that is. But they had known each other so my dad trusted him and his scheme and how everything would go here. And obviously, Coach Locks being an assistant of Nick Saban, most of those guys do pretty well. So it wasn’t too hard to make that decision. Once I got on campus, I really made the decision while I was on campus, so it wasn’t very hard.”
Jackson remained in Blacksburg during the spring semester in order to complete necessary course work, but that didn’t prevent him from getting to know Maryland’s College Park campus and his future teammates when time allowed.
“I came up here about three or four times,” said Jackson. “It was only about a four hour drive, so I was able to come up here on the weekends, able to meet with them, able to hang out with them and get to know guys’ names and everything like that. So it was very cool that I could take advantage of that, being so close. So it was a good experience.”
Even before officially arriving at Maryland this summer, Jackson had a familiar face in College Park in former Virginia Tech wide receiver Sean Savoy, who joined the Terps himself back in the spring. Savoy was one of Jackson’s prime targets back in 2017, having caught 39 balls for 454 yards and four touchdowns, primarily out of the slot.
“It’s definitely been nice,” Jackson said of having Savoy at Maryland. “Coming in, even though I was able to visit a few times, it was nice to have one guy that I’ve known for, I think, two years now, and a guy I’ve been through games with. It’s nice to have Sean and I think we are looking forward to this new opportunity.”
Jackson and Savoy have continued to see their relationship grow during Jackson’s short period of time on campus, as the two are now roommates at Maryland and spend much of their time together off the field at their apartment.
“Me and Josh get along great,” Savoy said. “Me, him and his girlfriend. We all go in there and we talk, sit down with my girlfriend, eat dinner. It’s like a family thing. Me and Josh are in there going over plays together, play games together, play Fortnite, so we do it all together.”
Savoy isn’t the only new Terp with a Josh Jackson backstory. Buffalo graduate transfer tight end Tyler Mabry grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, just a stone’s throw from Jackson’s hometown of Saline. And while Jackson helped recruit Mabry to Maryland, it wasn’t his first time recruiting the All-MAC tight end.
The way Jackson tells it, the two had never actually met face-to-face before finally joining forces at Maryland, but he tried recruiting Mabry to his high school during their prep years in Michigan.
“I had never met Tyler prior, but I tried to get him to go to Saline High School,” said Jackson. “He was from Ypsilanti and he was going to Lincoln and him and [current Miami wide receiver] KJ Osborn decided to go to IMG [Academy]. So I was bummed about that. So it seems like we had always been trying to play together and we finally got on the same team and I think it’s going to turn out pretty well.”
Despite his record-breaking freshman season, Jackson enters fall camp having missed most of last season with a leg injury. As such, he simply appreciates the ability to get back out and compete and knows he will have to earn the starting job in College Park.
“It’s a full competition,” said Jackson. “Everybody is going to have a chance. I’ve competed many times so I’m just going to try to be the best I can and hopefully that means I get to be on the field.”
It is that humbleness and quiet confidence that has Savoy convinced Jackson can be that leader on the field Maryland’s offense is looking for.
“I think Josh is an excellent leader, man,” Savoy said. “Josh comes in and he sets a standard that’s been set for him that was set at Virginia Tech to where he always comes out and leads by example. Like when me and Josh are out there, we joke around sometimes, but it’s mainly straight football. It’s about how we’re getting better today, and we’re going to get better tomorrow and later on in the day when we go over plays. It’s just that he’s always been a leader. He knows how to go out there and lead a team.”
