West Virginia jumped into the race for Troy defensive line transfer TJ Jackson fast and furious once he entered the transfer portal. And those efforts paid off with a commitment.

Jackson, 6-foot-2, 280-pounds, entered the transfer portal Dec. 28 and the Mountaineers were one of the first programs to join the fray with a scholarship offer. Others would then follow suit such as Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Houston but the West Virginia coaching staff would get him to campus first.

That official visit would prove to be all that was needed as Jackson would announce his commitment to the Mountaineers at the tail end of the trip. He would cancel a planned visit to Houston and instead will enroll at WVU in January to close his college career.

“I loved the campus. Me being from the South you know I’ve never seen anything like it. I loved the snow. I was expecting not to like the cold, but it wasn’t too bad after getting adjusted,” he said.

Jackson steps into the role that was vacated when Tomiwa Durojaiye surprisingly elected to enter the transfer portal this past week right before the deadline. And while he doesn’t bring the multiple years of remaining eligibility that Durojaiye had, Jackson does bring production.

Jackson spent three seasons with the Trojans 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.

Jackson was a first-team all-Sun Belt selection in 2022 when he notched 8 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss.

“They want me to play the field end spot and really all over the defensive line,” he said. “They like my hand placement and basically my IQ of the game.”

The fact that West Virginia jumped in and recruited Jackson was hard in a short period of time showed him the need that the coaches had for him to join the program. Defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley served as the lead recruiter, but defensive line coach AJ Jackson also played a role.

“They all showed major love,” he said.

And now with one year of eligibility left Jackson is excited for his final chapter in Morgantown as he plans to enroll Jan. 8 in order to get a head start on writing it.

“I’m very excited to finish my career here and ready to get to work,” he said.