Sam Jackson is feeling right at home at the center of the Naperville Central offense.
The sophomore transfer from Bolingbrook has proven to be a ready and able new favorite target of senior quarterback Payton Thorne from his wide receiver spot.
In the team’s recent 56-13 romp over Metea Valley, Jackson snagged four passes, all of them for touchdowns.
“That was my first time ever having a big game like that, executing plays like that, making plays,” Jackson told the Chicago Tribune.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound rising star, who has already bagged a scholarship offer from Minnesota, might want to get used to the feeling.
Over the Redhawk’s first five games, he now has 25 catches and nearly a 25-yards per reception average as a central feature in a high-powered offense averaging more than 36 points per outing.
Jackson said he has ambitions to be quarterbacking for Central after Thorne moves on and has already started studying film. He admits he feels he has an edge on virtually everyone he lines up across from.
“When I’m at receiver, I know what they’re going to do,” he said. “I know they’re in cover-2, cover-3, man or in a zone or whatever. It’s just great to have two quarterbacks, two good quarterbacks on the field — one at quarterback, one at receiver. You can make plays easy, read the defense and stuff like that.”
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