HERO Sports is counting down the days until the kickoff of the 2018 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 25, by featuring the best player in the FBS at each jersey number, from 99-1. Each day, from May 18 through Aug. 24, we'll publish one article showcasing the best player whose jersey number matches the number of days remaining.
No. 17 Josh Jackson
Virginia Tech – QB
Josh Jackson's eligibility was in doubt after an undisclosed academic matter led to speculation that Virginia Tech's starting quarterback could join the list of unexpected offseason losses. Jackson, however, is eligible and ready to build on a strong freshman season in which he led FBS freshmen in passing yards (2,991).
"Intellectually, Josh has tremendous capability,” Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente said. “He’s highly intelligent, and he can just process information, he doesn’t forget information, and he can process it in real time and communicate that. I just believe that when you have guys like that, they can continue to take leaps and bounds forward by continuing to invest more time in their mental development."
While Jackson often struggled with his accuracy (76-for-151 in five of 13 starts), the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder played well in his first season as starter. He threw only nine interceptions in 396 attempts (2.2 percent), had six games with at least 20 rushing yards (including 101 yards in their Week 1 win over West Virginia), and led the Hokies to nine victories.
Jackson enters the season as an All-ACC candidate and the best No. 17 in college football.
