SANTA ROSA, CA – There were over 150 Cardinal Newman students, staff and teachers, parents, some media, and well wishers as well on hand at the school on Thursday afternoon as Cardinals senior quarterback Jackson Pavitt, flanked by his mother and father, Suzanne and Shane Pavitt, signed his name on the line of a letter of commitment to attend California Polytechnic University of San Luis Obispo.
The offer had just come earlier this week when Pavitt announced it on Twitter, and it didn’t take long for the Newman star to accept a ticket to SLO after discussing it with his parents, and these are his reasons.
“Cal Poly is a beautiful location, great school, program on the rise and I think I will fit right in,” Pavitt remarked. “I have a great relationship with (head) Coach Baldwin and Coach Meyer from knowing them before, and I’m in the works building relationships with the rest of the coaching staff.”
Coach Beau Baldwin was only announced as the head coach on December 11 but apparently he didn’t waste a lot of time before deciding to make an offer to Pavitt.
Newman Coach Paul Cronin has had a few good quarterbacks and he rarely likes to compare them but talks about their individual assets.
“Jackson’s passion for football was influential to his teammates,” Cronin remarked. “He elevates everyone’s level of play because of the energy he brings to the game.”
“We’ve had a few quarterbacks play at the next,” continued Cronin. “Kyle Wright was a 2005 grad that went to Texas El Paso, Randy Wright was a 2009 grad that was a four-year starter at UC Davis, and 2018 grad Jordan Brookshire at San Diego State. As for Jackson, I thing he chose a great school and has an exciting opportunity.”
Not only did Pavitt elevate his teammates level of play, but they looked up to him to lead them and that’s exactly what he did in a season that saw the Cardinals go 14-1 and culminated in their first state championship after a 31-14 victory over El Camino-Oceanside in the state CIF Division 3-AA Bowl Game championship last Saturday.
“He’s a leader. He’s the one that taught us how to compete and brought us together,” said senior wide receiver Giancarlo Woods immediately after title game.
Pavitt, who currently carries a 3.48 GPA, plans to study business and exercise science at Cal Poly, and he’s looking forward to the overall experience.
“I’m excited to meet new people and get settled in quickly in a beautiful and new area, and get right to work.”
Pavitt may be headed to SLO but it sounds like he’s in a hurry to get busy.
