Auburn’s newest wide receiver, Sam Jackson V, is actually a quarterback. Well, he started as a quarterback then switched to wide receiver then switched back to quarterback and will now switch back to wide receiver again.
Following so far? Let’s break it down.
Jackson, a rising redshirt junior, was a three-star quarterback prospect in the college football recruiting Class of 2021. However, he also has extensive experience as a pass-catcher.
Jackson played quarterback throughout his youth and into early high school. The Illinois native began as a signal-caller at Bolingbrook High School. He later transferred to Naperville Central High School as a sophomore.
Payton Thorne, the current starting quarterback at Auburn, already held the QB1 spot upon his arrival. Jackson moved to wide receiver and caught 50 passes for 847 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Thorne graduated and enrolled at Michigan State. Jackson moved back to quarterback in his absence and threw for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior.
He did not play his senior season due to the pandemic. After initially committing to Minnesota, Jackson flipped to Purdue and then flipped to TCU.
He enrolled in Fort Worth during the fall of 2021. Jackson played minimally in garbage time as a freshman and sophomore with the Horned Frogs but completed all six of his six pass attempts.
Not long thereafter, it was time to hit the portal.
Jackson transferred to Cal-Berkeley and saw significant action during the first five games of the season — including a four-point loss to Auburn. He completed 53% of his 96 pass attempts for 556 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions.
That was the end of his time with the Golden Bears. Jackson didn’t play again.
With no opportunity to continue his career as a quarterback in Northern California, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound quarterback entered the transfer portal again on Dec. 11. 16 days later, on Wednesday, Jackson made a decision on his future.
Sam Jackson V committed to Auburn.
Thorne, his former teammate in Naperville, is already set to return as QB1 on The Plains next year. Jackson is reuniting with his former quarterback anyway and is changing positions, again.
He will play wide receiver for Auburn!
It has been a crazy football journey for Sam Jackson V, dating back to his sophomore year of high school. He will hope that the third time is a charm!