Huntington (W.Va.) 2025 athlete Zah Jackson had been leaning toward West Virginia for a while. So, the in-state product figured there was no reason to wait.
Jackson, 5-foot-10, 185-pounds, gave the news to head coach Neal Brown Monday and then publicly announced his decision Thursday giving the Mountaineers a major piece from within their home state borders.
“They were all pumped about it,” he said.
The Rivals.com three-star prospect has been a frequent visitor to Morgantown since West Virginia first got involved in his recruitment during his freshman season and that played a critical role. Especially since he would be able to represent his home state on the football field.
“It feels great. My home town is happy about it. It’s grate that they can travel and watch my games,” he said.
During that time, Jackson developed a close relationship with many of the coaches on the staff including secondary coach ShaDon Brown and offensive line coach Matt Moore. And those ties played a key role in helping to guide him to commit to the West Virginia football program.
“The whole staff has been showing me love since my freshman year and hasn’t stopped so they were very important in my decision,” he said.
The Mountaineers plan to start Jackson at safety in the defensive scheme, but he is versatile enough to where he can move around to several different positions. This past season he recorded 57 tackles and 5 interceptions while earning first team all-state honors in the process.
Jackson chose West Virginia over his fellow finalists North Carolina State, Mississippi State and Liberty.
The plan is for Jackson to enroll early at West Virginia in order to arrive on campus and get to work.
“It feels great,” he said.
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