Sallisaw senior running back Jackson Harris ready for 2025 season

Expectations for Sallisaw football has tremendously increased since Jackson Harris played as a freshman. The Black Diamonds went from going winless in Harris’ freshman year to back-to-back winning seasons, including reaching the Class 4A quarterfinals on both occasions.

He is quick to credit coach Brandon Tyler for that turnaround.

“Coach Tyler, he has brought something to the table that we’ve been looking for,” said Harris, a senior who plays running back and outside linebacker. “He just brings that energy and that excitement that we needed.”

However, the most important thing Tyler brought to the table, in Harris’ opinion, was changing the team’s attitude.

“I think the attitude changed as an overall team with our coaching staff,” Harris said. “I think it just made everybody more relaxed, and we weren’t always on our toes.”

But Harris, as well as his fellow Black Diamond seniors, are well aware the expectation level around town is much higher now. The Diamonds are now thinking higher places, contending to play for a 4A state championship. Harris is a main reason for Diamond fans’ optimism in 2025. As a junior, he rushed for exactly 1,000 yards and scored nine touchdowns, and even saw significant action at quarterback, throwing for 680 yards and six more scores.

“I like playing offense better; I’ve always played offense my whole entire life a lot,” Harris said. “I like to run the ball. I like to get that ball in my hand and go score a touchdown. (Playing offense is) definitely more fun to me, but I do like hitting people on defense, too. So it’s a hard decision, but I think I have to (prefer) offense.”

And when it comes to running the football, Harris’ strength is, well, his literal strength.

“I’m definitely a downhill runner,” he said. “I could run downhill very well. I rushed for 1,000 yards last year, and that’s off a bunch of power. I took a couple about 60 yards, but those are little 15, 20-yard gains up the middle that really added to those stats. I’m definitely a bruiser kind of running back and like to go meet people in the hole, by running downhill.”

Harris rushed for at least 110 yards and scored two TDs in each of Sallisaw’s first three games last season, all victories. He is hoping for similar numbers as a senior, especially attempting to duplicate what he did early last season. But, of course, with a few more wins.

“We’re really experienced. … We all know the team,” Harris said. “We believe that we can make it to the state finals, and think we’ll do a good job this year. We have a really good shot of making it.”

In order for Sallisaw to take that proverbial next step, Harris believes it’s just all about approaching things mental as it is physical.

“You know, it gets hard to keep coming in, day in, day out, those practices, they get rough,” he said. “Towards the end of the season, it’s just about keeping your attitude up and, you know, keep that same effort and energy going in through the whole season. And I think our guys really want to get to that state game as a team. I think we could, if we just keep our heads right and get to keep the mental things straight, giving 100% effort every day in and day out, I think we can make it there.”