Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1480138
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 5 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M when there's a senior quarterback as well that he was sharing time with. Jaxon just kind of went about his business and was fairly quiet but also led as much as a sophomore could lead. Last year, I thought he was doing a great job for us early in the season, but in that first game he breaks his collarbone. He never really stopped leading, though. What he did was lead by helping our other quarterbacks. He led by getting back as fast as he could. Jaxon had sur- gery on that collarbone, and the next thing you know, he's back at practice and had the shoulder harness off earlier than he was supposed to. He was work- ing really hard to get back and ended up playing just seven weeks later in a big ball game. I'm not sure that every kid could do that. Our kids respect Jaxon a lot. They ob- viously know that he's talented, but it's probably more the type of kid that he is and what he brings to the table as a person. BWI: On the field, what comes natu- rally to Jaxon? What stands out about him as a quarterback? WILSON: He's very comfortable with our offense. He's grown up around it. He throws the ball very well and has a quick release. He probably moves better than people give him credit for. Jaxon can move around the pocket well and can take off and run. Now, I wouldn't say that's his biggest strength, but I haven't asked him to do it much either, especially when he came back from injury. I think he does a great job coaching ev- erybody else. I have a son that's a sopho- more wide receiver on the team. Jaxon has taken him under his wing to help him and really help out all the other receivers to make sure they're all on the same page. I think he's a great teammate to really everybody, including the quarterbacks who want to be in his position. It's im- portant to him that he leads them in the right direction and helps them with their game. BWI: How did he perform coming back from his injury last year? Did it take him a few games to get it together? WILSON: The first game was against our rival, West Des Moines Valley. They're about 3 miles away from us. So, obviously, just because of the proximity, it's a great rivalry. The first half that he played, honestly, it looked like he'd been off for seven weeks. It looked like he was coming back from a collarbone injury. But then, in the second half, he got hot, especially in the fourth quarter. We were in our hurry-up offense, and Jaxon was throwing the ball comfortably. I think that's where people saw that he was dif- ferent than everybody else. He had a cou- ple of late touchdown passes that helped us get a win in that ball game. I think he proved himself a lot there and just found his rhythm again. The following week, I think he played a half and threw for about 250 [yards] and 2 or 3 touchdowns. So, he was coming back into his own by then. We won the first- round playoff game, and it was another great performance. In the state quarter- finals, which we lost by 10 to the eventual state champs, he threw for 260 and 2 or 3 scores. He was playing well. BWI: When you look back on his re- cruitment, how much do you think the injury impacted him? WILSON: We knew we were going to have issues recruiting-wise with the in- jury and the lack of film. I sat down with Jaxon and his parents, and we kind of put a plan together for what we wanted to do, and obviously, what film we had, we got that sent out. We also had some throwing sessions here, which were run by some- body else with Jaxon and our kids, and invited colleges to come out. To be honest with you, we got a some- what lukewarm response. So, we gath- ered and thought about this again. I truly felt I had a really good quarterback on my hands here, but it was a challenge from a recruiting standpoint. I'm one of those coaches who doesn't oversell my kids, but I felt very strongly about Jaxon. As time went on, we just knew he would have to do a great job at camps. I think a turning point for Jaxon was the camp down at Lindenwood [Univer- sity] in St. Louis. A lot of people saw him there, and there was a buzz around him after that camp. He picked up some FCS offers then, and other people started call- ing me about Jaxon. But, I also think it's been pretty well documented that the big break came with the Elite 11 invite. When he got the opportunity to go to that, it was very much last minute. He goes out there and performs very well and that's where things really took off. BWI: What's the ceiling for Jaxon? WILSON: That's a really good ques- tion. I think, if we look at it, he played half of the snaps offensively his sopho- more year in 12 games and only played four games as a junior. I really think he has the ability to continue to elevate himself. He's a student of the game. I think he can come there and be success- ful in their offense. In talking with Coach [Mike] Yurcich, that was one of my big questions for him. I asked him, "What are you looking for?" What it sounds like is that we have some similarities between the offense that we run and what they run, just from a philo- sophical standpoint. Jaxon seems to be really comfortable in an offense like that. I think with more reps, he'll just continue to get better. Ob- viously, playing at Penn State is different from playing in central Iowa, but as he gains more experience this season with us, it should only help him get better. When he gets to Penn State and faces the kind of competition that's there, I think that's when we'll really see what he's ca- pable of. ■ "Our kids respect Jaxon a lot. They obviously know that he's talented, but it's probably more the type of kid that he is and what he brings to the table as a person." D O W L I N G C A T H O L I C H E A D C O A C H T O M W I L S O N