Cal Sports Report

Cal Football: Bears Find a QB - Sam Jackson V Was a Third-Stringer at TCU in 2022

Jackson was a 4-star dual-threat HS prospect with offers from Notre Dame and Oregon.

Jeff Faraudo

Sam Jackson V, who was a third-stringer behind Heisman Trophy runner-up Max Duggan while playing for former Cal coach Sonny Dykes at TCU, has transferred to Berkeley.

He will have to earn the starting spot, but Jackson presumably is the dual-threat quarterback new offensive coordinator Jake Spavital wanted.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder from Naperville, Illinois, played sparingly as a redshirt freshman this season for the Horned Frogs, who reached the College Football Playoff national championship game before being steamed 65-7 by Georgia on Monday night.

"Sam is a young and talented athlete who is developing rapidly as a quarterback," Cal coach Justin Wilcox said while making the official announcement. "We are excited to get him started in our program and continue to accelerate his development."

Jackson arrives with three years of eligibility.

Jackson has completed every pass he has attempted as a college quarterback, although it’s a very small sample size.

He appeared in five games this season, completing all five of his pass attempts for 63 yards and no touchdowns, and rushing nine times for 64 yards and two TDs.

He played in two games as a freshman, completing his only pass attempt for 77 yards and rushing six times for 15 yards.

Cal has been in the market for another quarterback since starter Jack Plummer transferred to Louisville and backup Kai Millner left for Northern Arizona. 

Sam Jackson mic'd up during TCU practice:

The Bears’ only two returning quarterbacks — redshirt sophomore Zach Johnson and freshman Fernando Mendoza — have never thrown a pass in a college game.

Jackson was rated a consensus four-star prospect out of Naperville Central High. He was the No. 13 dual-threat QB nationally according to 247Sports composite rankings, and was judged the top recruit in the state of Illinois by ESPN.

He was the 204th overall recruit in the ESPN 300 rankings.

Coming out of high school he chose TCU over Notre Dame, Oregon, Minnesota and Purdue.

Jackson passed for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns as a high school junior in 2019 after being converted from wide receiver. He caught 50 passes for 847 yards and 14 TDs as a sophomore.

Cal's recruiting class now consists of 20 players -- 11 transfers and nine prospects signed last month.

An August 2022 interview with Sam Jackson:

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Sam Jackson scoring a touchdown against Tarleton

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Jackson scoring against Colorado:

Cover photo of Sam Jackson V by Mark J. Rebilias, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics. 

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