Jackson QB Adrian Fox stays home, signs with SEMO

Jackson senior Adrian Fox only had one chance to prove that he not only had what it took to be a starting quarterback in the highest class of high school in Missouri, but also at the collegiate level.

He proved to be the real deal, as he finished the season with over 1,900 passing yards while leading the Fighting Indians to a district championship.

Fox then made his next goal a reality on Wednesday when he signed his national letter of intent to play college football at Southeast Missouri State.

“There’s a relief off your shoulders after you make a decision that you know where you’re going for the next four years,” Fox said. “It’s a good feeling to have and I’m glad that feeling is with SEMO because SEMO is a great place to be.”

Fox, who was a finalist for the Carr Trophy, always wanted to land with the Redhawks, but also wanted to know the extent of what was available to him as a prospect.

“SEMO being home always had a close place in my heart,” Fox said, “but I tried to look at some other places because SEMO is all I’ve known my entire life.”

Fox got his preferred walk-on offer from SEMO during the middle of the football season. He also had similar offers at North Alabama and Austin Peay, but chose to stay home.

“SEMO was definitely the best option,” Fox said.

Fox also had an offer to go to Truman State of the Division II ranks, where numerous local athletes including Scott City’s Mark Panagos signed up to go. He took the official visit with his teammate, senior receiver Blayne Harris, who also got an offer. The spring and summer leading up to their final fall spent throwing to each other on the open fields paid off.

“It’s definitely a brotherhood all the way through,” Fox said of his receivers. “We had each other’s backs no matter what through the highs and lows and it really built character as a team. That brotherhood, once it was formed, was pretty hard to top on the field.”

It takes a village to raise a future college athlete. Among his parents, football coaches and teammates were the Prep Athletics coaches Chris Navarro and Blake Smith, who worked with Fox with specially designed workouts during the offseason. Smith and Navarro are former track athletes at SEMO, with Smith, also a Jackson alum, recently inducted into the SEMO Hall of Fame.

Along with still training at Prep Athletics and throwing to his former receivers but forever friends, Fox will spend one more spring on the mound for the baseball team, who finished last year with a third-place finish in the state tournament.

Fox and offensive lineman Zane Coon will join Bryce Norman and Logan Bruns as Jackson products on the Redhawks roster. SEMO has added plenty of local stars to the fold this week as preferred walk-ons. Along with Fox and Scott City’s Tyson Underwood, the Redhawks will also add Portageville’s Jamarion Smith, who rushed for 2,463 yards and 48 touchdowns.