Cavs Gain Commitment From Sleeper DE

After not playing football the first two years of his high school career, Jordan Jackson decided to give the gridiron a try this past season as a junior. The move turned out to be a good one, as the Woodgrove (Purcellville, VA) defensive end earned a scholarship offer from the University of Virginia. He accepted the offer on Sunday afternoon.

“After a long day of evaluating, I have decided to commit to the University of Virginia to play football for the next 5 years #WahooWah #UVA.” – Jackson wrote on Twitter.

Jackson, who stands 6’4″ and weighs about 220 or 225 pounds, chose the Cavaliers over offers from Hampton, Ohio, Old Dominion, and Yale. While ODU was the only other major FBS offer he had at the time of his commitment, Jackson was drawing serious interest from several others such as Duke and UNC.

The standout rising senior and new Cavalier commitment had 82 tackles with 12 sacks in 2012. He played defensive end for head coach Mike Skinner, who held the same position at Centreville High School for many years.

Jackson, who goes by the nickname of “JJ,” gives Virginia four commitments in the class of 2014. The Cavaliers suffered a de-commitment from defensive tackle Chris Nelson earlier this week.

EDGE Outlook: The lack of experience coupled with excellent speed and quickness off the edge makes Jackson an intriguing prospect for Virginia, which really needs defensive ends in this class. Because of his athletic ability, Jackson could line up with a hand on the ground or as a stand-up rush DE.

Before Jackson’s commitment, only five scholarship defensive ends were projected on UVa’s 2014 season roster. Only two — Eli Harold and Mike Moore — have seen significant game action at the position. Defensive end is an obvious need, and I ultimately think the Cavaliers could take three players at the position in this class.