Nashua South QB Cody Jackson turned himself into a dual threat last season with his speed, and hopes to continue to do the same this year. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – It was the winter of 2024, and Nashua High School South sophomore quarterback Cody Jackson was healing from surgery to repair a broken collarbone.

He mapped out a workout regimen that would literally revamp the way he played the game.

“When I realized we won only one game,” Jackson said, looking back, “something has to change.”

What, or who changed was Cody Jackson. He became a dual threat as a quarterback his junior year, showing speed no one expected as a runner and improved field vision as a passer. It was a huge factor in South jumping to an eight-win season and a berth in the Division I quarterfinals.

Now,in his senior year, Jackson and the Panthers, who were scheduled this weekend to take on one of the other Division I favorites, Bedford, at Stellos Stadium, have championship aspirations.

And they have a QB who is working his tail off to try to achieve that.

“I think what a lot of people don’t see is all the work that he puts in when nobody’s looking,” Nashua South coach Josh Porter said. “A prime example of that is he’s getting out of lacrosse practice, coming back to do his (football) workout and then hanging out with the incoming eighth graders and teaching them how to lift.

“And then he’s doing his speed training and all that. So as far as work ethic goes, it’s top-notch. It’s no surprise he’s continuing to improve.”

EARLY ON

Jackson arrived at South as a sophomore, transferring from Merrimack when his father, Dave, was the offensive coordinator for a year already with the Panthers. The move to Nashua was made, and he won the starting job of a young, rebuiding team. South was more or less a JV team playing a varsity schedule. But the fact his dad was here helped make Jackson feel more comfortable.

“When I was a freshman (at Merrimack), he had already been a coach here,” Jackson said. “So I moved to Nashua so I could be here with him. It helped a lot. He coached me in eighth grade too. It was just the same thing, I’ve been around the same offense my entire life.”

It certainly helped Jackson survive the rigors of a tough season.

“Playing as a sophomore is tough for anybody,” Porter said. “And then we were surrounded by all other sophomores. That year we definitely took our lumps. I think (Jackson) responded really well.”

Jackson began playing football when Dave Jackson lured him to the game, away from soccer as a youth.

“After seeing my Dad coach, and seeing how much he loved (football), made me love it even more, so I just came back to it. He always said I could do what I wanted, but he really persuaded me to play football.”

Arriving at South, the former Merrimack Tomahawk fit right in.

“It was great, everybody was welcoming,” Jackson said. “Even though we had a tough year, nobody was bashing on me or telling me I was horrible. We just trusted the process and got better together.”

When he was a freshman at Merrimack, Jackson was actually a slot receiver until an injury had him move to QB. And he’s been that ever since. His older brother, Trent, was also a QB and taught him how to “get the mental part down. It helped a lot, too.”

Indeed, playing QB may be glamourous, but it’s hard to learn.

“It’s a lot,” Jackson said. “You have to know what everybody on the field is doing at all times, not just your position. It takes a long time. You have to dedicate your time to it. And, as crazy at it sounds, playing video games like Madden helps. It translates it, helps you understand it, and makes it easier. Still, it takes a lot of time to learn.”

Jackson put in the time, even while playing other sports. He’s been a three sport athlete his entire life, but he didn’t play basketball last winter, because he wanted to work out for football.

Bigger, faster, stronger.

“It doesn’t feel as physically demanding as when I was a sophomore,” Jackson said. “Every hit would hurt a little bit. But everybody’s just similar size now.”

And Jackson is so glad for that, because when he was a sophomore, the physical difference vs. other teams took its toll as he broke his collarbone for the third time in his young football career.

“I knew it had happened right away,” he said. “Thankfully it was at the end of the season so I still got that whole year.”

It was the only one that he needed surgery for, though, because there were multiple breaks. But he was a fast healer, able to come back in the middle of basketball season (February) and was good to go.

In camp prior to the start of the junior season, Jackson battled with fellow junior Harrison Joshi – who is now at South — for the QB job and it didn’t turn out to be as much of a battle as expected.

“He came out and he dominated, which was great,” Porter said, saying he saw a different player.

But there’s a moment when it all was confirmed. In the season’s second game, a non-league contest vs. Lowell (Mass.), Jackson dropped back to pass, didn’t see anyone open, and basically took off.

“All of a sudden, he outraced the entire Lowell defense for 70 yards down the sideline,” Porter said. “We were all like, ‘Whoa, where did that speed come from?'”

Well, Cody? Where did it come from?

Speed training.

“I put in a lot (of work),” he said. “I was running as much as I could. Also playing other sports helps a lot, it’s why I played lacrosse and not baseball like most QBs do because I just wanted to run.”

But he also trained with a speed training outfit based in Merrimack, Twin Speed Elite, “and that helped my speed a lot.”

What is involved? “You just have to run,” Jackson said with a chuckle. “As much as you can reach your top speed when you’re running, you’re always getting faster. … You don’t need any fancy drills or anything.”

And he always ran with Trent, who is out of football, studying at the University of New Hampshire. “He would push me as hard as I could,” Jackson said.

MATURITY

Working with the young kids in the weight room speaks volumes about how Jackson has taken a leadership role with the Panthers.

“He’s developing into quite a leader,” Porter said. “We had a number of guys who were here every Tuesday and Thursday night in the off-season, trying to get the freshmen to learn safely, properly and all that.”

Jackson’s reason for doing it was all about helping his team.

“I think that helps build a stronger bond on the team,” he said. “The freshmen, we really don’t see them, they don’t practice with us so we don’t see them much. But when you get to see them in the weight room, get to know them more, helps to build like a community with the team.

“I just want to help them out. Sometimes when you see kids working out, they really don’t know what they’re doing. I want everybody on the team to be good. A good varsity team is who the freshmen are right now. In four years, it’s going to be them, so they have to start right now.”

Porter’s not surprised Jackson has that approach.

“Coming over as a sophomore he was already a pretty mature kid,” Porter said. “I think his maturation process was more so becoming more vocal. As a sophomore, he was coming into a new school.So now he’s comfortable, found his voice a little bit. He’s still a lead-by-example type kid, but at the same time, he’ll let the boys know. He’s 100 percent the commander of the offense. And he’s naturally kind of a quiet kid, so you can see him come out of his comfort zone a bit.”

What is the change going into his senior year? Basically the same for Jackson – bigger, stronger, faster– with a few tweaks.

“I’d agree with that, as well as just mentally seasoned,” Porter said. “He’s in year three of varsity football. He’s in a similar system, just knows mentally. A lot of times he’s seeing the same things I am ahead of time, which is great, for him and I to be on the same page. Just the experience. He’s comfortable out there. The game’s moving slower, he’s gotten even better athletically, and mechanically he’s driving the ball well on lot of his deep balls. The short game he’s accurate, he’s putting it on spots where the receivers can catch and run, which we saw a lot of Week 1. Justin Fish took an out route and went 60 yards to the house. But if we don’t have that good placement, that slows him down.

“He’s doing a great job, he’s understanding the quick game, he’s getting the ball out fast, which he’s always done. We’re setting up some play action shots, stretching the field. It’s pretty much the same (as last year). With him specifically, it’s a lot of the same responsibilities.”

Jackson says he’s simply more comfortable. “I would be nervous with the ball last year, not knowing what to do,” he said. “Now it’s just second nature.”

Jackson is used sparingly on defense as a safety, because, as Porter said, “With a quarterback of his caliber, it’s tough to just next-guy-up-it. So we try to keep him out of harm’s way.”

Anything to get on the field, Jackson says. There’s one more thing he does: long snap on punts.

What QB does that?

“I kind of like that just as much as QB,” Jackson said with a grin.

His dad taught him that years ago; he didn’t do it last year but he is this season. “Now that I think I’m capable of tackling anybody when I get down there, it’s going to be fun,” he said, still grinning.

Meanwhile, Jackson’s got other skills as a quarterback besides running. He admits not working so much on accuracy as much as decision-making. He threw about a dozen interceptions as a sophomore, but that’s not the case now. Dave Jackson, who is no longer coaching, had always worked with quarterbacks so his son got all the basics needed to improve.

“He just helped me with my decision making,” he said. “I think I went from 13 picks to just a few.”

The summer was all about football. He used to go to the field to play lacrosse, but not this time. Football with Cody Jackson is king.

“During lacrosse season I was throwing the football as much as I could,” he said, noting he’d got work out with football teammates and his brother.

Those are the teammates he’s known now for a few years.

“We’ve got three and four-year starters on this team,” Jackson said. “It helps a lot, knowing I have people like (receivers, backs) Josh Tripp, and Sam Levine that have so much experience, they’ve been here so long. Just makes it so much easier for me.”

Nashua South QB Cody Jackson tries to escape the reach of Merrimack defender Zach Retey (87) durng a game last season Merrimack. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Jackson definitely wants to play in college, and quite a few schools have made contact with him and Porter, mainly of the Division II and III variety. “Like Bentley, Saint A’s, some of those local (Division) II’s have been in,” Porter said. “There’s definitely a lot of interest there, and whichever path that kind of goes, we’ll see where that looks. I think he’d be pretty successful at that level, especially with his work ethic.

“Obviously those are two very academic schools as well, so from a personal standpoint, he’s going to succeed. Cody’s a straight-A student. It would be a good fit for him all-around.

And his style suits the college game.

“He’d be a great scheme fit,” Porter said. “And college sometimes, one quarterback gets to play. So if you’re a freshman, lower, they might use you at defensive back. That’s wherever the coach decides. But he’s the type that works hard enough he’s going to succeed wherever he ends up.”

Jackson said he likely needs to improve his passing to be a factor in college. “I think I’m athletic enough, but as a QB, I don’t really have a tight spiral right now. We pass a lot in practice, we have a pretty up-tempo practice. … And I’m getting a lot more reps than I did before.” Jackson, who wants to study business, said he’d like to play in the NE-10. “That would be a good goal for me, I think,” he said. “I don’t know where yet. We’ll have to see how the year goes.”

And it’s a big year. Senior year always is, but even more so when you’re the QB of a contending team.

“We definitely have a championship in mind,” he said. “We came short last year, we thought we had it. It’s the only goal here, is to win a championship.”