Maybe the NW’s Biggest Sleeper; 6-6 205 TE/DE Jackson Walsh
With a few games left in the regular season recruiting will start to pick up around the state. Each year a sleeper or two emerges around this time and becomes a prime target for the universities. It’s no secret…
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Continue ReadingWith a few games left in the regular season recruiting will start to pick up around the state. Each year a sleeper or two emerges around this time and becomes a prime target for the universities.
It’s no secret small town Oregon football doesn’t necessarily get the attention it sometimes deserves. That said as 4A Cascade might have that guy for the 2023 class.
6-6 205-pound TE/DE Jackson Walsh has a lot going for him, including coming from one of the state’s most athletic families. His dad Mark Walsh was a 1st team all-state TE/DE, who played for maybe Oregon’s best team ever in Roseburg. The group won back-to-back to state titles in 1995 & 96′, and was the first Oregon HS team ever to be ranked in the USA Today Top 25 poll. He ended up playing TE at Oregon State on some of the best Beaver teams ever.
His Mom Sarah Walsh is all over the Oregon State women’s volleyball record books as well, just to put the family’s overall athleticism into context.
Separate from the genes Jackson brings a lot to the table. He’s a three-sport athlete with intangibles you can’t teach. The size and athletic ability speak for itself as he’s also young for the grade.
One of the biggest reasons Walsh has gone under the radar is Cascade’s wing T offense. Jackson has caught double digit balls on the year with a TD, but they run the football most of the time, featuring the state’s leading 4A rusher in Jacob Bell. The Cougars are 16-3 over the last year and a half, losing in the state quarterfinals to Marist last season.
Jackson helped Cascade to last year’s state title in hoops as they will be a contender again this season. He will also be a 4-year varsity guy in baseball, earning all-conference honors at first base in 2022.
These days having size is almost a must if you are going to project to a high level of collegiate ball. When the PRZ rankings are updated in a few weeks, Walsh will be listed among the fastest rising recruits in the state. The kids out of Turner, OR have a few other talented young athletes to watch, with 6-2 310 pound freshman Bryce May being an individual who could blow up in the coming seasons.
Mark Walsh’s former Roseburg teammate Jake Cookus is now a coach at Oregon State where he shined as a player. Cookus has done a phenomenal job over the years of finding players like Walsh and developing them. It will be interesting to see how this scenario works itself out as Jackson will have options when all is said and done.