Cardinal Newman's Jackson Pavitt eager to continue football career at Cal Poly

As Jackson Pavitt prepares to graduate high school on Saturday, the star Cardinal Newman dual-threat quarterback from the Cardinals’ CIF State Division 3-AA championship team has focused his attention on transitioning to the next phase in his life and football career.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Pavitt earned a four-year athletic scholarship to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and will compete for the Mustangs’ starting quarterback position - if there is a season this fall.

“Football is still the dream and it’s still alive,” Pavitt said. “I can’t wait for college. I can’t wait to get down there, it’s a beautiful place. I am super thankful and very happy with the opportunity I was given.”

In 2019, Pavitt led the Cardinals (14-1 overall and 5-0 in the North Bay League-Oak Division) to an NBL-Oak title, a North Coast Section Division IV title with a thrilling last-second 13-10 win against Marin Catholic, and the CIF State 3-AA Division championship with a 31-14 victory against El Camino of Oceanside.

“The season was super exciting. It was a great season for me and the whole team,” Pavitt said. “The team really came together. We really maximized our potential.”

Remarkably, Pavitt played with a broken wrist in his left (non-throwing) hand for the final 21/2 games of the postseason. Pavitt and the Cardinal Newman coaching staff thought it was a bad bruise and didn’t know it was broken until after the season. Pavitt said it didn’t affect him much during games.

“In games, the adrenaline runs pretty high,” Pavitt said. “I was slightly aware of it and I knew I couldn’t stiff-arm with my left arm.”

Pavitt had surgery in early March to repair the fracture with a screw inserted and recently had his cast taken off. He said he doesn’t anticipate the injury having any long-term negative effect on his play. Pavitt has not had any other injuries during his football career.

“The thing that made Jackson a great runner is he is just fearless. He is a tough kid,” Cardinal Newman coach Paul Cronin said. “He ran the ball like a running back.”

Pavitt beat opponents on the ground and in the air with the Cardinals’ West Coast read-option offense.

“Jackson throws a nice ball, always on target. He has a strong arm,” Cardinal Newman deep-threat receiver Tsion Nunnally said. “He is a great leader and takes everything ?head-on. I’m going to miss him a lot.”

For 2019, playing behind an offensive line with no returning starters from the previous season, Pavitt was 200 for 292 passing with 2,750 yards (183.3 yards per game) and 30 touchdowns and two interceptions. He rushed for 744 yards on 94 carries with 11 touchdowns.

According to MaxPreps, Pavitt finished ranked as the 334th quarterback in the country and 32nd in California. His accoldes are many, including: NBL-Oak Most Valuable Player; CalHiSports Senior of the Year-North Coast Section and Second-Team All-State selection; Prep2Prep NCS Player of the Year; SportStars Magazine All-NorCal Team; and the San Francisco Chronicle NorCal Offensive Player of the Year.

In Pavitt’s two years as starting quarterback, he led the Cardinals to a 25-2 record.

In his high school career, he completed 357 of 501 passes for 5,260 yards with 61 touchdowns and five interceptions. He rushed for 1,496 yards on 260 rushes and 24 touchdowns.

Cronin said that at Cardinal Newman, Pavitt was a grinder and what set him apart were his toughness, work ethic and voice as a leader.

“Leadership is one of Jackson’s greatest strengths. He wasn’t afraid of saying unpopular things. He worked so hard his teammates looked up to him,” Cronin said. “By game four of his junior year he was playing like a senior. He is a football junkie.”

Pavitt said the Mustangs’ offense is similar to the one run at Cardinal Newman, making it a good fit for him. Pavitt said he realizes the speed of the college game and the higher-caliber athletes will be a challenge, but he says he’s ready.

“My most important improvement needed is my growth physically and in the weight room,” Pavitt said. “I will miss my routine at Cardinal Newman but (there’s) time to adapt and change to a new routine.”

During the stay-at-home order, Pavitt said he has been working out with weights at home and is waiting for word from Cal Poly coaches regarding the upcoming practices and season, which are still to be determined.

“It’s really up in the air, the coaches keep stressing that,” said Pavitt, who is ready to join his new team. “Coach Cronin reminded me to continue to do what I did at Cardinal Newman and to keep my hunger for the game.”

Pavitt has a 3.5 GPA at Cardinal Newman and plans to be a business major at Cal Poly. He said he doesn’t know yet what he wants to do for a career. However, Pavitt is acutely focused on what he wants to do on the field at the next level.

“I am focused on playing the best that I can at Cal Poly for as long as I can,” he said. “I want to dominate grown men playing college football.”

Cronin said he has no reservations about Pavitt adjusting to college football.

“Because Jackson works so hard, he will grind through the growing pains at the next level,” Cronin said. “He is a guy that has a chance to be on the field early in his college career.”

Pavitt said one of the driving forces for him in 2019 was Cardinal Newman’s only setback of the year - a 13-10 loss at powerhouse Liberty of Brentwood early in the season.

“That Liberty loss gave us the fuel to finish off the season. I took it as a motivating factor. I took it personally. It made us all rise to a higher standard,” Pavitt said.

“I’m definitely a guy that likes to turn negatives into motivation.”