Pine-Richland DE Miguel Jackson commits to Charlotte after losing scholarship at Liberty

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 | 8:26 PM

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Miguel Jackson felt a lot of emotions when he made his college football decision — for the second time.

Almost simultaneously, the star lineman and defensive end from Pine-Richland experienced relief, a renewed sense of belonging and peace of mind when he announced he will play at Charlotte of Conference USA.

“I’m just happy I found a new home,” he said.

Not long after the PIAA Class 5A championship game, which Pine-Richland won to cap an 11-0 season, Jackson found out Liberty, the program to which he initially pledged about four months ago, pulled his scholarship due to holdover seniors staying for another year after covid-19 wiped out this past season.

Charlotte, an FBS program with a spot for him, was there to pick up the pieces.

“(Charlotte) offered me last week, and I really liked what they had to offer,” the 6-foot-2, 265-pound Jackson said. “And I thought about it this weekend, and I committed to them (Monday).”

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Let’s get to work Queen City????#GOLDstandard @CharlotteFTBL pic.twitter.com/WQ81e4lNLP

— Miguel Jackson 5️⃣6️⃣???????????? (@_mjjacks) December 9, 2020

A defensive end who also could play defensive tackle for the 49ers, Jackson recently won the 2nd Bill Fralic Memorial Award as the WPIAL’s top two-way lineman.

“I have a lot of family down there (in North Carolina) and that played a big factor,” Jackson said. “And I really like the campus.”

Jackson said over the weekend he had narrowed his choices to three. He chose Charlotte over Central Michigan and James Madison.

Pine-Richland’s all-time sacks leader, he had 54 tackles, 19.5 for loss, and 12.5 sacks this season.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Pine-Richland