West Virginia DL TJ Jackson is simply a football player
West Virginia wanted to add a veteran to the defensive line room and found that in TJ Jackson.
Jackson spent three seasons with Troy where he was productive across his 36 games on the field. During that time, the Alabama native 94 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.
This past season Jackson appeared in just 12 games but notched 27 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks as a key piece up front for Troy. A versatile defensive lineman, Jackson has the size to play all three downs in the Big 12 and is an athletic pass rusher with plenty of experience under his belt.
“He’s bringing a winning attitude to our unit,” defensive line coach AJ Jackson said.
Jackson is a different type of player than what his position coach has had in the past in the sense that he isn’t the largest option standing just 6-foot-1 but he more than makes up for that in other areas.
“He is a football player just by definition,” Jackson said. “He can do a lot of things.”
The senior has the versatility to be a pass rusher on the edge due to his ball get off as well as demonstrating the ability to move inside due to his power. It’s something that stood out to Jackson when he first watched his highlights when he entered the transfer portal.
And that isn’t just limited to the defensive side of the ball as Jackson has shown the ability to help on special teams by both blocking kicks and being on the punt shield or even kickoff return.
“He’s just the definition of a football player,” Jackson said.
That ability to do a little bit of everything made him the right fit in a veteran defensive line room especially when you consider that he was accustomed to winning during his time with the Trojans.
“He provides pass rush, he’s versatile. He can play interior defensive line or exterior and he’s very great at moving around. Lateral quickness, he has a lot of different tools he can use,” Jackson said.
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