After a long wait, Georgia Tech finally has its first football commit of the 2018 class. OLB JaQuez Jackson of Fort Valley, GA committed to the Swarm Sunday evening after spending his Saturday on the flats with coaches.

According to Jackson’s commitment tweet, he received his offer tonight and committed soon thereafter. Jackson boasts a handful of other Power 5 offers from Iowa, West Virginia, Maryland, Wake Forest, and Rutgers.

Film

I’ve only been able to give the film a quick look, but to put it simply: Jackson is an explosive athlete at the LB position. He gets moving quickly and has fantastic pursuit speed that projects well to power-5 play. His highlights feature him chasing down Tech QB signee Tobias Oliver, who has an impressive resume of his own. He has good size for the position at 6-1 216 lbs entering his Senior year. He looks like he could add another 15-20 lbs to his frame without losing too much speed.

Jackson plays well in space in the alley as well. He doesn’t get fooled by the ball-carrier’s moves and usually has good tackling form. Jackson also isn’t afraid to plug a hole between the tackles, but will be a better fit outside.

There isn’t a ton of film of Jackson engaging blockers, as he is usually too quick for them at the HS level. That will change in college, and that will be an area where he needs to work on his technique. There also wasn’t a ton of film of him in coverage, though he looked fine in zone. If there was any man coverage film in his highlights, I missed it. Given his athleticism, he should be fine in coverage, but I’d like to see more coverage film his senior season.

To sum up, Jackson has exciting raw physical tools, and plays extremely well in space. He’ll fit right into Tech’s 4-2-5 scheme.

Let’s Welcome JaQuez to the flats!!