Football Across Minnesota: Gophers QB recruit Jackson Kollock honors sister lost to SIDS

FOOTBALL ACROSS MINNESOTA | Week 6

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF. – Jackson Kollock walks into the football coaches’ office, an hour after the school day ended, carrying bags of sandwiches from a local shop. The star quarterback at Laguna Beach High delivers off the field, too. In this case, he picks up the pregame meal for coaches and teammates.

Kollock, a Gophers commit, has been rehabbing a minor arm injury leading up to Friday’s home game. Some wonder if the senior will be able to play. That was never a question in his mind. Coaches still marvel at the time last year when Kollock played in a 7-on-7 event with a broken throwing hand because he refused to miss a chance to prove himself against California’s best talent.

Back in the office, coach John Shanahan double-checks to make sure Kollock feels OK to play and then goes over the game plan. Kollock gives the same respectful response to every coaching point: “Yes, coach.”

Laguna Beach coaches and school administrators alike rave about Kollock’s work ethic, character and leadership.

Kollock’s motivation to be a role model is personal. He wears it in eye black on his cheek: the initials “CR.”

He plays to honor his sister Catalina Raine, who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) — defined as the death of a child of less than 1 year of age that remains unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation — in 2017. Catalina was 32 days old. Jackson had turned 12.

“I couldn’t be who I am today without her,” he said. “She definitely taught me a lot about how precious every second is. I think that’s where my work ethic comes from. Football has turned into an escape. It allows me to get out all my emotions. It’s a safe place for me.”

Kollock struggled with grief after her death. He was the oldest of five kids at the time, the protective big brother to four sisters. His life felt shattered as he approached his teenage years.

“You’re living in this perfectly happy, wonderful family and then all of a sudden, your whole world is shaken,” said his mom, Teresa. “It definitely changed his perspective. He understands how precious life is. He doesn’t take anything for granted. I think that’s part of the reason he’s at where he’s at right now because he works so hard every day.”

Kollock didn’t play tackle football before his sister’s death. He focused on baseball as a star pitcher. Everything changed as he coped with his family’s tragedy.

He lost interest in baseball. A coach suggested that he try football. He discovered a passion that allowed him to channel all his emotions into something positive.

His strong arm as a pitcher served him well as a quarterback. His parents got him specialized training. In eighth grade he enrolled in a sports academy called The Togethership that provides education and training to elite athletes.

Former NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer trained quarterbacks who were already in the league or preparing for the scouting combine at the facility. His clientele that year included Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence.

Palmer enlisted students to catch passes during workouts. Kollock wasn’t a receiver, but he jumped at the opportunity to catch passes from Allen, the Buffalo Bills’ strong-armed quarterback.

“My thumb is probably still messed up to this day because of Josh Allen’s throws,” he joked. “He would zip that thing in. It was an amazing experience.”

He spent his freshman year playing at Santa Margarita Catholic, a football powerhouse 45 minutes away from his hometown. Laguna Beach has never been known for football. Most kids in this beach town 50 miles south of Los Angeles prefer surfing.

“I’m like the only kid who doesn’t surf here,” he said with a laugh. “When everyone is out on the water, I’m on the field. I’ve tried it a couple times and was like, nah, not for me.”

Laguna Beach is his home, though, and representing his hometown mattered to him. Kollock transferred his sophomore year and led Laguna Beach to its first California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) section championship since 1946.

Laguna Beach improved to 7-0 Friday night behind another strong performance from Kollock, who has a 25-3 career record as a starter.

He has passed for 6,679 yards and 87 touchdowns with only 14 interceptions in his career. He also has rushed for 687 yards and 19 touchdowns.

He is rated as the 29th-best quarterback recruit nationally by 247Sports.

Kollock is physically gifted beyond his strong arm. He is the second-fastest player on the team, and he won a CIF title in shot put in track after picking up the event as a sophomore.

“Phenomenal kid in every way,” said Shanahan, the football coach. “A great brother, great son, great friend, happy-go-lucky kid. There’s no arrogance about him at all. He works as hard as he can work and wants to be great. It’s an absolute joy to coach him.”

Kollock initially committed to the University of Washington, but a coaching change caused him to pivot to the Gophers. Offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. had stayed in communication throughout his entire recruitment.

Kollock and his family also feel a special connection to coach P.J. Fleck through mutual tragedy. Fleck created his “Row the Boat” mantra after his newborn son Colt died because of a heart condition.

“I think that was a big thing for Jackson, just knowing that he was going to be around someone who understood part of his life that he’s been through,” Teresa said. “My husband [Ryan] and I felt the same.”

The Kollocks have found hope in many places, including the birth of their sixth child, Kingston, who is 5 now and idolizes his big brother.

Catalina’s birthday was in November, and she would have turned 7 this year. Her brother plans to honor her memory as he always does at playoff time, by writing her initials on his cheek before games.

“We talk about her all the time and celebrate her,” Teresa said.

Kollock has another idea to celebrate his sister. Having turned 18 this year, he plans to get his first tattoo. Something that honors Catalina. He is still designing the image.

He pays tribute to her every day by working as hard as he can at everything he does. He found purpose and a safe place on a football field when he needed it most. He promises to never take that for granted.

. . .

Top that, big brother

East Ridge kicker Luke Ryerse tells coaches each quarter during games the distance he feels comfortable from if asked to kick a field goal.

In ideal conditions, he puts his “reasonable max” at 62 or 63 yards, though he has hit from longer distance in practice.

Ryerse was making kicks successfully from 60 yards during pregame warmups at Lakeville North on Friday. The senior, who will play football and baseball for the Gophers next year, got the call to try a 56-yarder at the end of the first half.

Ryerse turned around almost immediately after kicking it and slapped hands with his holder as the ball was still in flight toward the goal post.

He knew the outcome.

“I felt like I hit it very well,” he said.

He did, making it the second-longest field goal in state history in what proved to be a 41-17 upset over top-ranked and previously undefeated Lakeville North.

Ryerse’s kick was 1 yard short of the state record of 57 yards set by Fabian Kleinschumacher of Climax-Fisher in 2003.

He did gain bragging rights in his house though.

Ryerse’s brother Grant, who kicked for the Gophers, made a 55-yarder for East Ridge vs. Stillwater in 2016.

Luke organized a fundraising campaign called Kicking Against Cancer that benefits the Tackle Cancer initiative. Grant, who currently serves as his brother’s kicking coach at East Ridge, offered to make a bonus contribution if Luke eclipsed his career best of 55 yards.

Time to pay up, big brother.

Ryerse’s performance Friday wasn’t limited to one long field goal. He averaged 45.3 yards on three punts and had a successful onside kick in the second half.

Ryerse is the state’s No. 1-ranked baseball prospect who had plans to play both football and baseball at Alabama. The new football staff that replaced Nick Saban wasn’t as agreeable to that plan, causing Ryerse to change his commitment to Minnesota.

“At least as of now, I’m true to the two sports and I want to try to do that as long as possible,” he said. “I know there’s probably a day where I will be told that I can’t do that anymore. But I want to ride that out as long as I can.”

He has worked out a plan with Fleck and Gophers baseball coach Ty McDevitt that will allow him to compete as a punter and pitcher throughout fall and spring seasons.

Ryerse plans to focus on punting in college because the Gophers are signing another standout kicker in Alexandria’s Daniel Jackson, who made a 54-yard field goal earlier this season.

Ryerse and Jackson are close friends, a relationship that started at a kicking camp in St. Cloud when they were in eighth grade. They traveled together to kicking camps over the years.

Ryerse said he will serve as the holder for his friend and fill in as kicker, if needed. That will be quite a luxury for Fleck’s special teams unit.

. . .

WEEKEND REWIND

“I can’t thank all of our fans [enough]. There were 15,000-plus in the Rose Bowl. In fact, we gave them a game ball. This was special — special for our program, special for our fans.”

— P.J. Fleck on the large contingent of Gophers fans that traveled to Pasadena for Saturday’s game.

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UP NEXT

Vikings vs. Detroit Lions, 12 p.m., Sunday, U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings are coming off the bye at 5-0. The Lions are 4-1. The two teams have the highest point differential in the NFL, a combined plus-123. This is a matchup of the two of the NFL’s best teams.

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DAILY DELIVERY + FAM

Each week this season, my colleague Michael Rand and I will review a few FAM topics together and post our chat to YouTube. This week, we talked about Laguna Beach quarterback Jackson Kollock, a Gophers commit. Watch our video right here.

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A FAM FINAL WORD

The late Keith Jackson famously coined the Rose Bowl Game the “Granddaddy of Them All.” The Gophers didn’t experience the true spectacle of the bowl game and parade, but fans who made the trip will attest to the special nature of that setting with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background.

Thank you for reading Football Across Minnesota (FAM), my weekly column that tours football topics in our state from preps to pros. I’ll publish this column on Tuesday mornings. I appreciate feedback, so please reach out anytime. Thanks again — Chip (@chipscoggins on X; email me at chip.scoggins@startribune.com)

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Want more Football Across Minnesota? Chip’s previous columns are here: