Auburn Lands 4-Star EDGE Rion Jackson in Major Recruiting Win

The Auburn Tigers win another recruiting battle for 2027.

On Wednesday, 4-Star Edge Rusher Rion Jackson announced during a live commitment ceremony on YouTube that he would be heading to the Auburn Tigers. The Annapolis, Maryland native chose the Tigers over his other finalist, Virginia Tech.  

Jackson is 6-3, 210 pounds, and is viewed as the 28th best Edge rusher in the country. Overall, he is the 311th player, regardless of position, and the 8th recruit in the State of Maryland. 

This is a big recruiting win for Alex Golesh and defensive coordinator DJ Durkin. He has built strong relationships inside the Maryland pipeline since his former head coaching days for the Terps, and it showed big time with Jackson.

Jackson was impressed by the coaching staff on his last visit and told On3 about the positive relationships he was building. "We went over how I feel in the program and the schemes and all that. I definitely get a culture shock every time I come here because of the intensity of everybody."

During his junior year at Annapolis Sr., Jackson recorded 50 tackles, 9 sacks, and 16 tackles for loss across just 9 games. He recently took an official visit to Auburn Jackson from May 29-31. He was scheduled to visit Blacksburg last week, but it never occurred.   

Zac Blackerby of Locked on Auburn loves his game. "An intense desire to get to the football, that's a DJ Durkin defender. Long frame, violent hands, really good first step." His co-host, Darrell Dapprich, is also on board. " He doesn't overpursue. He stays at the line of scrimmage, stays calculated, stays conscious of not chasing."

Jackson will become the 16th player to join and will already be a part of a loaded 2027 class. Others already committed to the Tigers are QB Gary Chatman, RB Myson Johnson-Cook, RB Kingston Miles, WR Brylan Oduor, TE George Lamons, OT Layton Von Brandt, OT Rance Brown, IOL Jaylon Moore, DL Donivan Moore, LB Kareem Palmer, LB Isaac McNeil, CB Nash Johnson III, Aidyn Wiggins, S Chance Gilbert, and K Noah Ash.