Football
Favorite athlete: Peyton Manning
Favorite team: Broncos
Favorite memory competing in sports: Pop Warner super bowl in Disney
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Rushing to get the runner out at home, I threw the baseball over the backstop from centerfield once in 6th grade
Music on playlist: Kanye, Kid Cudi, J Cole, Kendrick Lamar
Future plans: Study Aerospace Engineering in College
Words to live by: “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear”
One goal before turning 30: Be a millionaire
One thing people don’t know about me: I am talented at piano and have taught myself about 20 songs
By Mary Jane Souder
Versatility – it’s a trait coaches covet it in their athletes.
Jackson Estes apparently has far more versatility than he even knew he possessed. At least on the defensive side of the football where he has just about done it all.
The Central Bucks West senior’s natural position is linebacker, but after a rocky sophomore season playing linebacker that was filled with nagging injuries, he found himself at cornerback as a junior. It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing.
“He ended up starting our first couple of games, he had some struggles, faced a lot of adversity and ended up riding a lot of highs and lows,” West coach Rob Rowan said.
Then, during the summer prior to his final high school season, Estes was approached about playing yet another position after arguably the team’s top defensive player – Jack Wierzbowski, a first team all-league defensive tackle – was lost for the season to an injury.
“We were looking for somebody to step in his shoes and give us a similar production that Jack was going to give us,” Rowan said. “We actually went to Jackson probably right before camp started. We said, ‘Hey, listen, we’re going to move you to defensive tackle. We know it’s not something you’ve ever played before, but if you take coaching and you play with tremendous heart and effort, we think you could be really productive.’”
A tall order, to be sure, especially for Estes, who at 5-11, 185, is hardly your prototypical lineman.
“He came up to me during warmups and said, ‘You’re going to be moving to noseguard,’” Estes said. “I sort of thought he was joking at first.
“Once I realized he was serious, I was all for it because I love the constant battling and action that happens there. I think it’s worked out pretty well.”
Estes – it turns out - is blessed with some very valuable intangibles: effort, determination and heart, and the senior has been remarkably effective for a West squad that advanced to the District 1 6A quarterfinals as the 11th seeded team out of 16.
“He’s way, way undersized, but his effort has been off the charts” Rowan said. “He doesn’t get enough credit. He’s giving up a hundred pounds every week, and he just battles his butt off, and he makes tremendous plays every week, and they’re effort plays. I know he’s got five or six sacks on the season. In our win over CB East (in the opening round of districts), he had an interception, and he had a forced fumble that set up the fourth score.”
The magnitude of both plays by Estes in West’s 42-26 win over archrival East cannot be overstated. His forced fumble when the Patriots were driving set up a touchdown that sent West into halftime with a 28-0 lead. His interception after a Cooper Taylor tackle jarred the ball loose broke a 12-0 Patriot second half run and changed the momentum of the contest that the Bucks went on to win decisively.
“Going from corner to noseguard is a little weird,” Estes said. “I’ve never played either side of the line for my entire career. It was very different, but once I got used to the position and technique, I just loved the one-on-one battles every play, no matter what.
And how does he compensate for his size?
“When I’m facing dudes that are 6-3, 6-4 and 300 pounds, I just try and beat them with speed,” Estes said. I play super low, and if I’m quick off the ball, I can get around them faster than they can get their hands on me. That’s the whole plan with that.”
It’s certainly been effective for Estes, who earned honorable mention All-SOL National Conference recognition.
“Only six defensive tackles get it throughout the league,” Rowan said. “To be 180 pounds – and I’m probably being generous - and get that for the first time ever playing that position, that’s awesome.”
Baseball or football – that was the question
Jackson Estes had a promising future in baseball, but instead of following the path of least resistance and pursuing baseball, the West senior went with his heart, walking away from baseball in favor of his passion – football.
The choice was not an easy one, especially since Estes appeared to have his ticket all but punched to play baseball at the next level.
“My first memory of sports was actually t-ball,” said Estes, whose family moved from Colorado to Pennsylvania when he was five years old. “When we moved out here, I immediately started playing sports. I started with baseball and football.”
He played baseball through his sophomore year.
“I was very serious about baseball,” Estes said. “I played on the Bucks County Generals 2023 National team, and we played across the northeast in showcases and college-hosted tournaments.
“Right as the recruiting process started and colleges started emailing was when I made the decision that baseball wasn’t something I wanted to pursue further due to a lack of passion and interest in the sport.
“I just didn’t enjoy it as much as football, which stinks. I wish I loved it more because I probably could have excelled at that, but I just wanted to play football.”
Estes put a lot of thought into his decision.
“It was not easy at all because there was certainly a bright future down that path, and it had been part of my life for so long, but it wasn’t something I loved doing, and that was a painful reality I had to face,” he said.
Estes love for the football never wavered.
As a member of the freshman team, he saw plenty of action at running back and linebacker.
“It’s an interesting story,” Rowan said. “He was a pretty dynamic freshman – we had a lot of high hopes. His sophomore year, which was the COVID year, obviously was just a mess. He never was able to get on schedule that year.”
If the pandemic wasn’t enough of a setback, Estes found himself battling some unforeseen injuries.
“I tore my one quad and pulled my hamstring at the beginning of sophomore year,” Estes said. “It happened right before the first game, and it took me out of most things.
“I could not go 100 percent that entire season. It just really took a toll on me. I couldn’t really do much of anything. It happened right before the first game - I was jayvee but only was able to play in the last couple of games.”
Junior year, Estes stepped into the unfamiliar role of cornerback, filling in for a player who was suspended but returned and took that spot back after three games.
“Honestly, when that happened, I lost a ton of my confidence,” he said. “It just did a lot to me.”
But just when it seemed as though his story on the gridiron might not have a happy ending, along came an unlikely opportunity. Estes seized the moment and has had a senior season to remember.
“It’s definitely been the most fun season I’ve played as far as the journey we’ve been on – coming from 1-3 at one point,” he said. “We definitely learned a lot.
“When we gave up that loss to (Central Bucks) South (in week nine), we realized we went in way too confident, and that humbled us a little bit. Then we came back against East and beat them, so we’ve learned a lot. The season has been really great.”
And what has playing football added to his high school experience?
“It’s more than I can describe,” Estes said. “I already know when it’s all over I’m going to miss it more than anything.
“The amount of friendships I’ve made, the lessons I’ve learned – it’s really changed who I am. I can definitely see how my work ethic and just the ability to do things the right way has definitely improved.”
Off the gridiron, Estes – an excellent student – takes honors and AP classes. He is a member of the National Honor Society and has been active in its community service projects. He also leads his football team’s optional weekly Bible study that meets before games.
As for next year, he hopes to return to Colorado where his father’s side of the family still resides.
“Right now, my number one choice of colleges is the University of Colorado,” Estes said. “I’m looking to go into mechanical engineering, hopefully, specializing in aerospace.”
As for his decision to choose football over baseball, Estes has no regrets.
“He’s another kid - he’s a National Honor Society student, so he’s tremendous in the classroom and does a lot in the community,” Rowan said. “I’m really, really happy for him because he found a role, and he bought into it. And he’s had tremendous success, and he’s going to have tremendous memories when he looks back, so I’m happy for him.”
