Gridiron: The Ryan Nesbitt era in Jackson begins

After 11 years under the leadership of Brent Eckley, culminating in his retirement, the Jackson football team has finally shifted hands and hired the highly successful Nesbitt from Troy Buchanan High School in Troy, Missouri.

While undoubtedly a high-caliber signing for the position, expectations ride understandably high for one of the most successful football teams in the state of Missouri in the past 30 years.

On the heels of a 6-4 season and an exit in the district semifinals, Nesbitt inherits a team with much proving to be done. However, he comes equal to the task as the team prepares for a strong 2023 campaign under new leadership while searching for a new team identity.

Senior Adrian Fox is projected to enter the season as the Indians� starting quarterback. (Photo by Tony Capobianco)

“Our goals are always the same,” Nesbitt said. “We want to compete and have an opportunity to win the last game of the season. That never changes. I think that’s just about every team’s goal, so it’s pretty cliche.

“But, truly, with this group – we’re just trying to be the best football team that that we can be. Not the 2020 state championship team, not last year’s 6-4 team. We’re just talking about this football team, and this football team is different from each one of those. We’ve got our strengths, we’ve got our weaknesses, and we’re trying to get better every single day out. We’re trying to enjoy what we do and learn how to really work hard and enjoy that process.”

After a split-quarterback system saw mild success for the Indians in 2022, the younger of the two quarterbacks, Adrian Fox, returns as a senior for his second season in the red and black.

It’s a new year and a new coach for Fox, his third in three years, including his sophomore year at Cape Central. Yet for Fox, the more things change, the more it feels the same.

“Not a lot has changed at all,” Fox said. “[Nesbitt] does a lot of the same stuff as Eckley. We will run the ball a little bit more.”

Fox’s strong ground game provided a spark for the Indians a season ago, but he’ll look to open it up through the air in a new Jackson offense that appears a pinch more run-centric.

“Experience helps with being comfortable in the pocket,” Fox said.

When a shift between coaches comes, a lot of overhauls typically come through the program. The recent hiring of Nesbitt has brought a slew of changes to both the facility and the ideology of the Jackson Indians football team.

Hanging new posters, painting the locker room red – the team is focused on making something about the team just feel different entering the 2023 season, and after scheduling an alumni event in late July to showcase the program’s deep history, it appears that Nesbitt is locked-in on bringing Jackson pride back to center stage as he leads the program to new heights.

Inside the locker room, the ideas have shifted as well. Emphasizing the grit of the team, Nesbitt wants to bring the fight to the frontlines as the Indians search for redemption.

“Toughness matters,” Nesbitt said. “Everybody talks about culture, and that’s a buzzword in sports, and it’s true. It’s real, and I think culture is a daily fight. It’s something that you work every single day to establish. For our guys, it’s learning how to work hard. Then, once we get that, it’s learning how to enjoy working hard – to really enjoy, you know, that process.

“When you train those habits, how you do everything daily, your product on the back end is a result of consistency through your work habits. We’ve just been trying to work on getting a little bit tougher mentally and establishing those habits that we want to have long-term.”

Fox said the process of changing coaches led to the team improving their chemistry throughout the offseason.

“It definitely improved a lot,” Fox said. “Losing your head coach and then getting a new one, we definitely all had to come together as a team.”

__Jackson__

__Coach:__ Ryan Nesbitt (First season with team; 43-53 career record)

__Last season:__ 6-4, 4-0 SEMO North

__Key returns:__ Adrian Fox, Kia Crowe, Zane Coon, Reid Landers, T.J. Altenthal, Gavin Guilliams

__Key losses:__ Tony Williams, Isaiah Davis, Tony Terry, Griffin Horman

__Schedule__

Aug. 25 — at Edwardsville (Ill), 7 p.m.

Sept. 1 vs. Howell, 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 at Farmington, 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 at Poplar Bluff, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 vs. Cape Central, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 vs. Sikeston, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 vs. Confluence Prep, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 vs. Holt, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 at Festus, 7 p.m.