Defensive back JC Jackson walks off the field with defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim after a practice in 2016. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
Maryland defensive back JC Jackson will forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft, he announced on Instagram this weekend.
While Maryland is still waiting on other key juniors to make decisions on their futures — including DJ Moore, who was named the Big Ten wide receiver of the year earlier this month — Jackson didn’t hesitate to leave for the draft early after his second season in College Park. He made 12 starts in 2017 and recorded three interceptions and a forced fumble.
In his statement posted on Instagram, Jackson thanked Maryland Coach DJ Durkin, defensive coordinator Andy Buh and defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, who helped recruit Jackson to College Park in the summer of 2016. Jackson was a former blue-chip recruit who played two seasons at Florida before running into legal problems in 2015.
The Imokalee, Fla., native had his career sidetracked in April 2015 after he was charged with four felony counts in connection with a home invasion and robbery incident in Gainesville. He was eventually found not guilty of all charges in November 2015 and continued his football career at a junior college in California before enrolling at Maryland. He made 11 starts as a sophomore in 2016 and led the team with 11 pass breakups.
Jackson was one of the more productive players on a Maryland defense that struggled immensely during a 4-8 finish in 2017 — the Terrapins were last in the Big Ten in scoring defense (37.1) and second-to-last in total defense (419.4 yards allowed per game) — but the Terrapins have a crop of promising young corners to help make up for the departure.
Former DeMatha star Tino Ellis will be returning for his third season next fall after picking up starting experience in each of his first two seasons, and Florida State transfer Marcus Lewis will be eligible and will add versatility to the secondary. Maryland also has an intriguing prospect in freshman cornerback Deon Jones, who redshirted this season while rehabilitating a knee injury he suffered before his senior season of high school. Jones was one of Maryland’s highest-rated prospects to sign in the class of 2017.
Maryland needs all the help it can get in the secondary after finishing the season as one of the worst in the conference in pass defense. The Terrapins surrendered 228.6 passing yards per game; only Purdue and Northwestern gave up more.
Alongside Jackson and possibly Moore, Maryland is also waiting out other potential early-entry losses to its roster. Junior running back Ty Johnson, Maryland’s leading rusher over the past two seasons, didn’t rule out potentially entering the draft early following the team’s 66-3 loss to Penn State in November.
Other candidates to leave early include offensive tackles Derwin Gray and Damian Prince, both of whom arrived in College Park as highly touted recruits during the Randy Edsall era.
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