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Maryland head coach Mike Locksley announced Monday that Virginia Tech transfer Josh Jackson will be the Terps’ starting quarterback to start the season against Howard on Saturday.
Jackson, who’s entering his redshirt junior season, beat out junior Tyrrell Pigrome to win the job.
“After an extremely tight camp battle, we felt that Josh earned the starting role,” Locksley said in a press release Monday. “Josh and [Pigrome] pushed each other throughout the summer and into camp. We are excited about the talent in the quarterback room and strongly feel that we can win with both guys. We’ll find ways to utilize each of their talents, but are confident with Josh leading the team.”
While four-star freshman Lance LeGendre received a few first-team reps in fall camp and redshirt freshman Tyler DeSue tried to build off his Maryland 2019 spring game MVP performance, the starting quarterback competition ultimately came down to Jackson and Pigrome.
Pigrome, who had shown signs of improvement of his throwing ability during fall camp, appeared in 11 of Maryland’s 12 games, starting the final two after last year’s starter Kasim Hill went down with an injury. Pigrome completed 69 passes for 376 yards and two interceptions last season.
Locksley was impressed with Jackson throughout fall camp, telling the media that the quarterback showed his ability to take care of the football and limit turnovers, while also making big plays in the red zone.
Locksley on Josh Jackson's scrimmage performance: “Josh did a really good job of taking care of the football. … I think he ended in a good situation with scoring points with his drive opportunities.”
— Lila Bromberg (@lilabbromberg) August 13, 2019
He's said before that taking care of the ball is what'll decide who starts.
Jackson started all 13 games for Virginia Tech as a redshirt freshman in 2017. He led all Power 5 freshman quarterbacks with 2,991 yards and 236 competitions and ranked second with 20 touchdown passes. The redshirt junior also ran for 324 yards and six touchdowns to cap off his impressive debut season.
Jackson appeared in three games the following season before fracturing his left fibula and missing the remainder of the season. He entered the transfer portal in January and committed to Maryland in February.
The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native previously demonstrated his play-making ability during his redshirt freshman year and played in plenty of big games for the Hokies, making him the favorite since he arrived to campus over the summer. With a fresh start in a new program, Jackson will look to repeat that production with the Terps.