MORGANTOWN — West Virginia has been busy with junior day events for the 2023 class and those efforts resulted in a commitment from Fairfield (Ohio) defensive back Josiah Jackson on Friday.
Jackson, at 6-foot and 170 pounds, also holds offers from Iowa State, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Indiana and Cincinnati, while receiving plenty of interest from other programs. But it was the Mountaineers who secured his commitment after a pair of recent visits to Morgantown.
The Rivals.com 3-star prospect first visited WVU following an offer in late January for a junior day, and was back for another March 5. Those two experiences along with his connection with the coaching staff was more than enough to close the book on his recruitment.
“This was just the place for me,” Jackson said.
It didn’t hurt matters that WVU was a self-described dream school for Jackson and after seeing it all for himself, it was enough to offer his commitment to the coaching staff.
Jackson developed a close connection with defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley as well as co-defensive coordinator ShaDon Brown, and was impressed with the plan those assistants laid out for him. The Mountaineers envision him starting his career at one of the safety spots given his length, range and ability to slide around to multiple spots in the back-end of the defense.
This past season he recorded 40 tackles and a pair of interceptions for his high school program.
Jackson is the fourth commitment for West Virginia in the 2023 recruiting class and the first in the defensive backfield. He also represents the first pledge from the state of Ohio.
His twin brother, Jordan, also a defensive back, holds an offer from WVU, as well, and has visited the program multiple times with Josiah. The latter now plans to turn his efforts from being recruited to recruiting others to join him in the class moving forward.
The 2023 class is starting to take shape and the pledge of Jackson is certainly just another impressive building block for the WVU coaching staff.
By KEENAN CUMMINGS
TWEET @dompostsports
