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Pitt added another Florida athlete to the 2019 recruiting class Sunday when Khadry Jackson committed to the Panthers.
Jackson, a 6’1” 200-pound prospect from Orlando (Fla.), earned his offer from Pitt at one of the Panthers’ prospect camps after working out at linebacker, and he said that the vision the coaches have for him at that position was a key factor in his decision.
“I just felt like the fit and the scheme was great,” Jackson told Panther-Lair.com. “They see me playing the Star linebacker position - it’s like a hybrid safety/linebacker and it’s a great fit for me.
“I didn’t have the mindset coming in that I might commit, but it was just such a good time, it grew on me. So I talked to God about it, talked to my family and it was a great decision.”
Jackson picked Pitt over offers from Iowa State, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, N.C. State, Rutgers and a host of programs outside the Power Five conferences. He committed while in Pittsburgh for an official visit, where he spent time with linebackers coach Rob Harley and head coach Pat Narduzzi, among others.
“I have a great relationship with all the coaches, mainly with Coach Harley,” he said. “We talk every week and he was ecstatic when I told him I was committing.
“And Coach Narduzzi’s great. The vision that he has for Pitt and the way everybody’s buying into what he’s saying, you see everybody responding to him and you see that it’s happening.
“I’m 100% committed to Pitt. Now I’m just focused on getting better.”
Jackson is the third Florida recruit to commit to Pitt in the 2019 class, joining Miami Northwestern teammates Leslie Smith and Calijah Kancey and Cardinal Gibbbons running back Vincent Davis.