Veteran ACC Cornerback Amari Jackson Joins Maryland Football
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After landing their first four portal additions on the offensive side of the ball, Mike Locksley and the Maryland Terrapins have now made their first splashes for the defense.
One of the additions is a starting-caliber cornerback who has battled through injuries the past two years: Amari Jackson from Boston College.
Jackson played in all of BC's 13 games in 2023, racking up 39 tackles, a pass breakup, and a pick-six. He was off to a strong start in 2024 before suffering a torn ACL in their Week 6 game at Virginia.
Last year, Jackson appeared in the first two games before suffering another major injury that kept him sidelined until November. Still, he managed to secure 28 tackles, nine pass breakups, and another interception over that two-year period.
Jackson comes to Maryland with one year of eligibility remaining... and some familiarity with the coaching staff.
Current Terrapins' co-defensive coordinator and associate head coach for defense and cornerbacks Aazaar Abdul-Rahim was on the BC staff for the first two years of Jackson's career before coming to Maryland in 2024.
Together, they'll try to cut down on the team's 226.5 pass yards allowed per game, which was third-most in the Big Ten.
Take a look at Jackson in action below:
While it's a smaller sample size than he had in his 2023 campaign, Jackson recorded a 71.8 pass coverage grade (out of 100) via PFF last fall. It makes him an ideal bounce back candidate to fill some needed depth in the Maryland secondary.
Rising senior Jamare Glasker is set to return as one of the starting corners, but two of the other regulars there - La'khi Roland and Braydon Lee - both left via the portal.
Dontay Joyner remains on the roster as well but shifted to mainly slot coverage duties from Week 8 onwards last year.
With the other recent commitments of defensive linemen Derrick LeBlanc from UCF and former Terrapin Lavon Johnson from Texas, the Terps currently stand at seven transfers in and 15 out. You can view them all with our updated portal tracker.
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Mike joined Sports Illustrated with over four years of sportswriting experience. He started off his career in Syracuse on the Orange football beat, where he was featured on CBS Sports' Cover 3 Podcast and local ESPN sports talk radio. After a brief stint reporting on Major League Baseball, he returned to the college landscape with Maryland On SI.