Stan Jackson new head coach at Westerville North

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‍COVER PHOTO: Former Ohio State quarterback Stanley Jackson, Sr. is being chased by Arizona State linebacker Pat Tillman in the 1997 Rose Bowl. Jackson finished the game 6-of-14 passing for 59 yards and one touchdown as the Buckeyes went on to win the game, 20-17. Picture by Mike Powell/Getty Images.

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It's official: Stanley Jackson is the new head football coach at Westerville North High School.

Originally reported by the Columbus Dispatch on Jan. 26 that the former Ohio State quarterback was being recommended by North athletic director Wes Elifritz to be the team's next head coach, Elifritz made it official on Tuesday via Twitter that Jackson has indeed been anointed with the title.

According to the Dispatch, Elifritz sifted through approximately 70 applications for the position and felt that Jackson's credentials were the most impressive, even though Jackson has never been a head coach.

“Stan rose to the top,” Elifritz said to the Dispatch. “In all three rounds of interviews that Stan was a part of, he painted an extremely clear picture of what our football program would be like with him as the head coach and the staff that he’s going to bring in. We feel this could be a transformational hire for us and something that is going to really take what Bryan Johnson has built and take it to the next level.”

The Warriors have fallen on tough times lately and after five seasons under Johnson, where they posted a 16-36 record, the school's administrators felt it was time to go in a different direction. Jackson said he believes what Johnson built is something that will enable him and his staff to take to bigger heights.

“I believe the program is heading in the right direction and it’s our job to take that next step,” Jackson said via the Dispatch. “Obviously, you’d like to see more wins than losses the last couple of years. When you watch the kids play, the team was, for the most part, very competitive. Coach Johnson did a heck of a job in taking this team to the next level and now it’s my job to finish it.”

The move makes sense considering Jackson's experience as not only a player but a father of two sons that currently play for the Warriors. Or at least one still does. Jackson's older son, Stanley Jr., is a senior this year that played running back and his younger son, Ronald, started at quarterback as a sophomore.

According to the Dispatch article, Jackson met with middle school athletes on Monday, Jan. 23 and talked about his plans for the program and also introduced two other former Buckeyes that he intends to bring onto his staff: running back Chris "Beanie" Wells and defensive tackle Winfield Garnett. Jackson and Garnett played together from 1994 - '97 and were both captains in their final season while Wells was a standout in the backfield from 2006 - '08.

Jackson said to the Dispatch that being coaches at the high school level is something he and his Buckeye brethren have been building towards.

“We’ve been coaching for five, six years at the youth level, all former Buckeyes, and we’ve been talking about this opportunity. We have the kids and they go on and you see them at the high school level and you think maybe this is the time to take the next step. The opportunity presented itself.”

The Dispatch also stated that Jackson said his staff would include Eastmoor graduate Marcus Ray, a former player at Michigan, and Ben Snell Sr., whose son Benny Snell Jr. played running back for Westerville Central as well as the University of Kentucky and is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jackson also told the Dispatch that his OSU head coach John Cooper and former Buckeye assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Bill Conley would serve as consultants.

The Dispatch said Jackson has been a coach in the Junior Football League of Westerville for the past eight years but will step down from that position yet remain on the organization’s board.

Even though this will Jackson's first-ever head coaching job, it's not the first time he's had to battle it out for a starting job.

After redshirting his true freshman year in 1993, the Paterson, N.J. native sat two more seasons behind incumbent starter Bobby Hoying. He appeared in 13 games during that span, going 26-of-53 through the air for 307 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while rushing 58 times for 178 yards and one score.

Finally, it was Jackson's turn to shine come the '96 season. However, some in Buckeye Nation were skeptical that the offense could even come close to replicating what they had done the year before. Hoying finished his career as the school's all-time passing touchdowns leader (57) while wide receiver Terry Glenn set a number of single season records on his way to winning the Biletnikoff Award, which is handed out to the nation's most outstanding receiver. After making the transition from basketball to football, tight end Rickey Dudley played his way into being a first-round NFL draft pick while running back Eddie George set the OSU single-season rushing record with 1,927 yards and snagged college football's most coveted post-season accolade, the Heisman Trophy.

Jackson answered the bell by helping the Scarlet and Gray demolish Rice in the season opener, 70-7, going 7-of-9 for 151 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

But he still had to fight for starting supremacy throughout his final two seasons as he split time with junior college transfer Joe Germaine, who was recruited by John Cooper in the '96 season in an effort to bolster the Buckeyes' passing attack.

Jackson started 11 of 12 games that year and led the team in passing yards with 1,298. The one game he didn't start was the regular season finale at home against Michigan, a game the Buckeyes lost, 13-9. Despite being one of the team's two captains the following season and starting all 13 games, the fifth-year senior primarily took a backseat to Germaine as he finished behind the junior's 1,847 passing yards and 16 TD tosses with 1,055 and eight.

His 1997 start against Michigan resulted in a 20-14 defeat and wasn't the crispest of performances as he went 4-of-9 for 49 yards, two interceptions (one that was returned for Michigan's final score of the game) and no touchdowns. It were those games against The Team Up North that Jackson wants to key on in his approach as the Warriors' head coach.

"We didn’t have a lot of success against Michigan (and) that particular game derailed national championships,” he said. “There will be two clocks in our locker room and they will count down the days to the Central and South games. Our players and coaches will be acutely aware of those matchups. You have to win those games.”

Jackson finished his career with 2,660 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions through the air while rushing for 533 yards and five touchdowns.

Columbus Wired will bring more on this story in the near future.