Athlete Spotlight: Football Star Jackson Enters Final Months of High School

Joe Jackson, a regular feature in the Watonga Republican during football season, had a breakout year in his fall senior season, where he played quarterback for the Eagles. Joe is a lighthearted, funny guy and is looking forward to his future goals outside of hig school. Jackson enjoys fishing and hunting, and he is currently involved in wrestling. He also runs track and is considering playing golf this season too. Jackson was a state qualifier in wrestling and track last year, and he loves supporting the community and his fellow student body.

Jackson loves football. He “came out of the womb with a football.” He oftentimes would look up to his older brother Trenton. That’s who taught him the game. They would play catch every day, and his brothers taught him to grow up tough. Joe’s “why” in football is the community. Last fall, he made a speech during a school pep rally, thanking everyone in the community for supporting not only him, but everyone else in the school as well. The yelling and cheering has always pushed him to be able to go beyond his limits.

Jack Lafferty, a past teammate of Joe’s, was always a big inspiration to him. “I always wanted to be like Jack when I grew up,” Jackson said. He looked up to him, and credits a lot of his drive that he now has to the encouragement that Lafferty gave him. When Coach Skylar Watson arrived at Watonga, Joe’s love for the sport only deepened. “He told me, me be me, like don’t try to be like no one else. You go do Joe Jackson and do Joe Jackson things,” Jackson said. His brother-in-law Andrew is someone that has also helped Joe immensely through football. Joe said that Andrew will always offer to buy him new cleats every season and whatever else he needs. He also made him as tough as he is today.

Joe plans on continuing his football career in college. He’s gotten multiple looks from multiple colleges, but he hasn't yet decided on where he wants to attend. After college, Joe thinks he would enjoy being a coach for football, so he can pass his love for the game on to younger generations.

Wrestling is what Joe is currently doing at school. He joined later in the season, but he’s been successful so far. He re-joined this year because he missed the fun he had with teammates and friends. He started wrestling at the age of 5, and has continued the sport on and off up through school. He’s had more fun this year than he ever has before in wrestling, and he aims to make it back to state again and place.

Joe wanted to “shout out” a few people. Mainly, Deondre Dunn, who Joe calls “D” and Octavion Brown, or “Big O.” He’s enjoyed watching his friends tear it up on the basketball court, and he loves being involved in the cheering, and often finds himself leading the student section at games. The community is Joe’s favorite thing about Watonga, and he finds that he can’t help but be a part of it when it comes to sports he doesn’t participate in.

When asked how Joe would describe himself, the first word that came to mind was funny. The second was Black. Joe is proud of his heritage, and he is actually a member of the Heritage Club at Watonga. His main goal is to be happy in life. “Money, without money. With somebody, without somebody. I just wanna be happy.”