Less than an hour after Indiana football landed its presumed starting quarterback in Fernando Mendoza, Appalachian State University wide receiver Makai Jackson signed with the Hoosiers, according to 247 Sports’ Chris Hummer’s X post Tuesday.
Jackson spent his freshman season at Saint Francis University and was teammates with Indiana junior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt in 2022. Jackson then played his last two seasons with the Mountaineers and has one season of eligibility left.
Across 11 games in 2024, Jackson caught 46 passes for 745 yards and five touchdowns. He racked up 418 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 2023.
Jackson was a 0-star recruit in the 2022 high school class out of Harry S. Truman High School in Levittown, Pennsylvania.
After the Hoosiers finished their season with an 11-2 record and a College Football Playoff First Round appearance, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti is reloading via the transfer portal.
Ahead of his second season at the helm in Bloomington, Cignetti has secured his 10th commitment — the fifth on the offensive side of the ball.
Senior Miles Cross and fifth year senior wide receivers Myles Price, Ke’Shawn Williams and Andison Coby all exhausted their eligibility at the end of the season. With Sarratt and redshirt sophomore Omar Cooper Jr. presumably returning for 2025 alongside sixth-year senior EJ Williams Jr.,Jackson will slot in with the three.
With Mendoza succeeding Kurtis Rourke, the Hoosiers have already landed a target for him in Jackson.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and columnist Jhett Garrett (@jhettgarrett) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
