Committing weeks ahead of schedule, no. 53 ranked wide receiver T.Q. Jackson shocked the world and committed to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Monday afternoon. The 5.7 3-star is a standout at Jefferson High School in East Texas and he's the second commit out of Texas for Chad Morris's 2019 class. Jackson has not taken an official visit to the Hill but when he visited in the spring, he said that's when he knew Arkansas was the school for him.
"I've known my decision for a while, like a month, I just felt it was time," Jackson said. "Arkansas was already at the top of my list before I visited but after that I knew. I talked to my parents and they were cool with it. I love the coaches and what they're trying to do."
The Texas native was recruited heavily by wide receivers coach Justin Stepp and running backs coach Jeff Traylor, who is as legendary as it gets in the East Texas football world. Jackson held offers from 16 other programs and even recently took an official visit to SMU.
"Coach Stepp and I have a really good relationship," Jackson said. "He tells me he needs me to help turn things around. I've been talking to Coach Traylor for a long time, and he's from East Texas so he knows how it is. I honestly have a good relationship with all of them."
Jackson is a great compliment to the Hogs' first 2019 wide receiver commit, 4-star Shamar Nash. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound wide out has grown two inches and gained roughly 15 pounds since the start of his junior season--and he runs a 4.45 40-yard dash.
"I think I'll fit in Chad Morris's offense great," Jackson said. "They had two 1,000 yard receivers and that's what I want to do, catch the ball. I think my athletic ability should earn me a higher rating. A lot of wide receivers can catch but I think my ability to get to the ball makes me better. I don't let it get to me, but I think if I went to a bigger school it would be different. I'm pretty fast for my height, so that separates me too."
Jackson sees himself as a faster version of 7-time Pro-bowler, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green. If Jackson comes even close to accomplishing the feats of A.J. Green, the Hog fan base should be thrilled.
"I'm really excited to see all the fans in person," Jackson said. "Like I've seen one side of it on Twitter but I want to feel it on game day. The fan base really impressed me on Twitter, it feels good, it lets you know how loyal they are."
Now that he's committed, Jackson is ready to get after more 2019 commitments. The Hogs will have a lot of momentum heading into the end of the dead period and Jackson wants to help them capitalize on a vital time for Razorback recruiting.
"I've seen tape on K.J., he's pretty good, he's got an arm on him," Jackson said. "I've talked to him before briefly and he was telling me to make that move. I'll be a great recruiter for the class. I'll actually tell them why they should commit and I've got a couple Texas guys I'm going to work on, like the Newton boys (Joshua Foster and Darwin Barlow)."
Jackson will be back on the Hill for the pre-fall camp cookout on July 27th where several other high priority recruits and current commits will be in attendance.
The Razorbacks' 2019 class now has seven commits. Arkansas has commitments from two 4-stars, legacy defensive end out of Georgia, Mataio Soli and wideout Shamar Nash, a Mizzouri native and former Mizzou commit, who attends IMG Academy in Florida. Arkansas has also secured its 2019 QB, who many have called the programs' QB of the future, KJ Jefferson. One of the most important commits for the Razorbacks is CB Malik Chavis, a home-grown, lightning quick athlete with a lot of upside. The Hogs have also received verbal commitments from two trench boys, Beaux Limmer, out of East Texas, and Joseph "Big Country" Stone, out of Alabama.
Read up on the state of Razorback recruiting with just under six months to go until early National Signing Day.
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