Former Virginia Tech QB Josh Jackson to transfer to Maryland football

Former Virginia Tech quarterback Josh Jackson entered the NCAA transfer portal in late January, and has announced he will be heading to College Park to join Mike Locksley and the new regime.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native suffered a broken fibula in September of 2018, ending his sophomore season after just three games. Due to this injury, Ryan Willis and other quarterbacks stepped up, leading to a crowded quarterback room and the potential for Jackson to lose the starting job in 2019.

Coming out of high school in 2016, Jackson was ranked as a high three-star prospect, the 12th-best player out of Michigan and the nation’s 12th-best dual threat quarterback. He received a number of Power 5 offers, including Big Ten offers from Minnesota and Northwestern, and was looked at but not officially offered by programs such as Penn State and Oklahoma.

After a redshirt season in 2016, Jackson took the reins of the Virginia Tech offense and set a number of freshman records for the Hokies. His 2,991 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine 200-plus-yard passing games were all school records for a freshman, with his yards and touchdowns also leading all power five freshmen in 2017. Jackson also rushed for 498 yards and six touchdowns, cementing him as one of the best dual-threat products in the Power 5.

Locksley was very vocal in his desire to add a graduate transfer to the quarterback room, and it looks like Jackson was the next best option after Jalen Hurts decided to transfer to Oklahoma instead of Maryland after his time with Locksley at Alabama. Jackson plans to graduate this spring from Virginia Tech, leaving him with two years to exhaust his remaining two seasons of eligibility.

At Maryland, the quarterback room seems to be full looking ahead to this fall. The additions of Jackson and four-star Lance LeGendre, plus incumbent Tyrrell Pigrome, will help the Terrapins transition to the dynamic offense Locksley ran at Alabama. With Kasim Hill presumed to be out for 2019, Max Bortenschlager and Tyler DeSue will also add more depth to the position, assuming Maryland sees no transfers out of the program.