Linebacker James Jackson’s return is good news for Virginia

After enrolling at Virginia in January 2021, Jackson played in 10 games as a true freshman that fall. He started six games in 2022, 12 in 2023 and all seven in which he played last season.

A tragedy ended Jackson’s second college season prematurely. In November 2022, UVA players Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry were shot and killed after returning to Grounds from a class field trip. Teammates who were in the program that fall were allowed to request another year of eligibility from the NCAA. That’s why Jackson was able to return for a fifth season, and he’s honoring Davis this year.

Jackson, who wore jersey No. 30 as a true freshman, switched to No. 7 in 2022 and played in that for three seasons. He’s in No. 1 this year. That’s the number Davis wore in 2022. (Wide receiver Suderian Harrison, who attended the same high school in South Carolina as Davis, also wears No. 1.)

Chandler and Perry wore Nos. 15 and 41, respectively, at Virginia that season.

“I’m one of the last people from the 2022 team,” Jackson said, “and those numbers mean a lot to me. That was the first time I was presented with the opportunity to wear one of those numbers, and I felt it was fitting for me to do that. I was pretty honored to even be considered for that, because it’s such an important thing for me. I just felt like as somebody from that team it made sense for me to wear that.”

Jackson admired the work ethic of Davis, who missed the 2021 season while recovering from a torn ACL.

“I watched how hard he fought to come back,” Jackson told the Daily Progress, “and I had a lot of respect for him and how hard he worked, how talented he was and how he was always trying to reach that potential that he had. I looked up to him.”

Injuries are something with which Jackson is all-too-familiar. In 2023, he sealed a historic road win for UVA by intercepting a North Carolina pass in the final minute, and he finished that season second on the team in tackles. But he played through an injury that required offseason surgery and forced him to miss spring practice in 2024. Then came the foot injury that hindered him last season.

Also banged up last fall were fellow linebackers Kam…