Sam Jackson Q&A: 'This is the culture I was looking for'

AUBURN – Most recruits come into Auburn with fans knowing who they are for years before arriving. Sometimes, they are found as recruits during their senior seasons. For Sam Jackson‘s case, the only thing anyone knows about him is that he played quarterback at Cal and provided a spark to nearly upset the Tigers.

Auburn Live’s Justin Hokanson provided a great preliminary interview with Jackson, but how are things going since arriving and going through practice?

“It’s been pretty good,” Jackson said. “Obviously, I know Payton Thorne, so it wasn’t hard for me to adjust. This is my third school, so it has been easy for me to adjust academically and for football. The culture is just very different, but I have been in the south before. I’m used to the heat, it hasn’t been that hot yet. I was in Texas, so I am pretty sure I’ll be used to the heat. Other than that it has been going pretty well.”

Adjusting as a receiver

Q: The transition to receiver has been smooth from a playbook standpoint, but what about from a technical standpoint?

JACKSON: “Last time I played receiver was 2017 I want to say. It has definitely been different. Obviously high school and college are two different levels. The speed of the game is different, the competition is different. Being in the SEC is different too. It hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be because I am pretty gifted athletically. I think the main thing is the small things–hand fighting at the line with the corners, tracking the ball over my head, making sure the deep ball is caught over my shoulder rather than me adjusting to the ball in the air. Just the little stuff like that.”

Q: How did the position switch go? Was it Auburn’s choice? Jackson’s choice?

JACKSON: “Honestly it was me telling them (Auburn) that I wanted to change my position. I wanted to show them and sell myself to them. It’s the SEC, they can go get whoever they want. I think the main thing was just me being prepared for that. I came off of two injuries and was not shocked but surprised that it went so smoothly. As soon as I hit the portal I got to talk to Coach Davis, got to talk to Coach Freeze, and it pretty much went how I wanted it to go. It’s going how I want it to go now. I’m loving it so far.”

Q: Jackson was not shy about which receiver stands out.. The question was asked, what receivers are standing out to him? Of course, he couldn’t leave out one other guy, either.

JACKSON: “I think the guy that stands out to me the most is Rob (Robert) Lewis. I’m pretty sure he’s our most polished receiver. He’s a senior, but he just has a lot of knowledge about the game and his passion shows how much of a leader he is. Even to the coaches, you ask the coaches about Rob and they will tell you. I love watching Rob work and can ask him anything. He will have an answer for me as quick as Coach Davis would.”

“Then obviously Cam Coleman who is just a specimen. He can do anything you ask him to do and I think he is catching on pretty quick, too. There are some things he has to learn being at a different level of the game. You wouldn’t think it’s his freshman year, but those two guys stand out the most to me for sure.”

How things are going with Thorne

Q: Jackson has talked through his relationship with Thorne before, but he gave some more insight this time. He was asked directly what to expect from Thorne this season and why he is looked upon as not good enough by many fans on social media. And, Jackson should have a clue now that he is catching passes from him.

JACKSON: “He just needed–I just think he needed a little bit more help with the receivers and things like that. They did a great job of recruiting as you can see. The offense won’t go well if you cannot pass and run the ball, there has to be a balance. Since I came here and started spring, it has been looking pretty good to me with Payton in there and the other quarterbacks, too. Once you give Payton leeway to do some things, I think you will start to see a lot of things change. I think you guys will be able to see that this year.”

“The fans are the fans and they will believe what they want to believe. But, if you really know Payton, he puts in a lot of work. He’s here all day. I barely see Payton at home because he is always up here going through the playbook. You can get that from Freeze, from Coach Austin, so I think the fans will see a whole different Payton this year. I think last year was his first year in the SEC. The team wasn’t how they wanted to be last year as far as the offense and receivers. We got a new coordinator and stuff like that. I think things will be different this year.”

Why Auburn?

Q: There were several reasons why Jackson chose Auburn.. He was asked directly if seeing the Auburn fans at the Cal game a year ago had any play into his decision.

JACKSON: “When I was at Cal last year and we played Auburn, it was like we were playing at Auburn. That stood out, but really what stood out was talking to Payton, because he was the leader of the team. He was just telling me about the culture and honestly I believe it. I know Payton wouldn’t sell me a dream.”

“Once I got to talk to Coach Freeze and Coach Davis that is what really sold me. I got to talk to AK, the recruiter–honestly, this is my third school, I have been through this process before so I knew what I was looking for. This is the culture I was looking for, for sure.”

Q: Jackson is not only happy with his choice to go to Auburn, he believes there is something in the works. He was asked about what he thinks of the team.

JACKSON: “I think we can win it all this year, honestly. That’s what I believe, I know our team believes that. We have a lot of work to put in and it is early in the year, but that’s what I believe from the guys that I have seen, offense, defense, it is looking pretty well right now.”

Q: Jackson was a part of the TCU team that went to the National Championship. He was asked directly if there were any similarities with that team, that went from 6 wins to a championship appearance, to the 6 win Auburn team hoping to do the same in 2024.

JACKSON: “I think it’s the way that they cater everything to the players. The team (at TCU) was a player-led team as far as the locker room. The guys are pretty close. I’m new here, I just got here in January, so I didn’t know what it was like to be around a lot of the guys last year. But, I can kind of tell just based on who I talk to the most. They were just telling me ‘this is going on last year,’ and a lot of those things have changed.”

“Coming from TCU, I was there for two years. I had (Gary) Patterson my first year and then I had (Sonny) Dykes the second year. It was like the same thing. The same thing I was seeing at TCU is kind of like the same thing I’m seeing here. You just have a great head coach, new offensive coordinator, and just being out there with those guys, I can see they want to do this for real. Like you said I have been on a 6 win team that then went to the National Championship. I kind of know what it feels like to be part of a team like this. I feel like even more than that team, we have the talent to do it and we are definitely putting in the work for it.”