Jackson latest Panther to sign at JBU
■ The senior signed with the Golden Eagles on Wednesday.
Sam Jackson’s actually playing time at the varsity level has been limited, but the Siloam Springs senior’s soccer career is far from over.
Jackson signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play men’s soccer at John Brown University, joining a growing list of former Panthers who have continued on at JBU.
“I’ve always wanted to play college soccer, especially at JBU,” Jackson said. “It’s been a goal of mine. High school has been awesome. I’ve got great coaches to get me where I’m at and great teammates. It’s great. I’m loving it.”
Jackson played some as a freshman on a Panthers team that finished as Class 6A state runner-up in 2018.
As a sophomore in 2019, his role expanded greatly at the end of the season when an injury to Thad Wright on senior thrust him into the starting lineup at defender.
Jackson went on to play well for the Panthers, who finished as Class 5A state runner-up. He earned AllState Tournament team recognition.
Jackson figured to be a key cog in the Panthers’ defense in 2020, but the season was cut short after seven games because of the covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s an incredible thing,” said Siloam Springs head coach Luke Shoemaker. “When you actually do the numbers, Sam’s only gotten to start in probably 10 games in his career due to covid. But you and I both know the impact he made when he got on the field his sophomore year, replacing Thad on senior night. And Sam’s just gotten better and better. He’s got this drive within him that’s led to that. He’s got this endless pursuit to reach his potential.”
Shoemaker compared Jackson to former Siloam Springs standout and current JBU junior Jack Bos.
“I always do the comparison with him and Jack Bos and now they get to be teammates together,” Shoemaker said. “When (JBU head) coach (Chris) Cole contacted me, and I already brought up Jack, one of his comments was, ‘How would you compare him to Jack?’ That was basically his starting line. I wrote back — probably way too large of an email — but at the end of the day, there’s so many similarities in personality and drive and what they can do for you on the field.”
Jackson would join former SSHS standouts Bos, 2019 graduate Eli Jackson and 2020 alum Danny Daugherty at JBU.
“I am tickled to death to see a team of Eli Jackson, Jack Bos, Danny Daugherty, and Sam all on the field at the same time,” Shoemaker said. “That would be a dream come true.”