Northside (Roanoke, VA) senior tight end prospect Dakota Jackson was receiving serious interest from several other major FBS programs, but in March of this year he decided to end his recruitment and accept a scholarship offer from Virginia Tech. Jackson, who enjoyed a terrific offseason, is the subject of this latest “Q&A” feature.

Jackson starts at tight end and defensive end for the Vikings and has been a steady playmaker throughout his varsity career. Last summer, he further showed the ability needed to be a major Division 1 recruit when he performed well at camps at Virginia Tech and UVa. The biggest question those schools and others had concerned Jackson’s weight, which was around 215 pounds last summer.

Jackson worked hard in the weight room and weighed in at 245 pounds in February this year. On March 1, Virginia Tech became the first school to offer.

“He listened very carefully to what [the Tech coaches] said. He chose not to play basketball and put his concentration in the weight room,” Northside head coach Burt Torrence said in a March 4 article on TSL. “Dakota has really shown a lot of growth as far as strength.

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