Quaker Valley alum Ryan Jackovic saw no playing time as a freshman on the Army football team, but the season was not wasted.

“The (upperclassman) players have been great mentors on and off the field,” he said. “That will help me better focus on the things I need to improve.”

Jackovic, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound wide receiver, watched as the Black Knights went 5-8. Among the losses was a 31-7 drubbing by archrival Navy, which snapped Army’s three-game winning streak in the series.

Jackovic has a new position coach after a former assistant was brought back to work with the wide receivers.

“The biggest (change has) been the time commitment to football and academics,” Jackovic said. “The competition on the field has increased significantly.”

Quaker Valley coach Ron Balog keeps in touch with his former player and recently had lunch with him.

“I am excited for him,” Balog said. “He really likes it there. His grades were fantastic in his first semester.”

Balog said the Quaker Valley staff will attend a coaching clinic at Army in early April.

“We will get to see a couple of practices and, hopefully, get to spend a little bit of time with Ryan,” Balog said.

Jackovic caught 35 passes for 464 yards and scored eight touchdowns in 2018 for the Quakers. He helped them to the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.

“Long term, I’d love to start making an impact on the field and continue success in the classroom to prepare for any and all tasks the U.S. Army might ask of me,” said Jackovic, who plans to study mechanical engineering.

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