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Jun. 17—JAMESTOWN — A few moments after University of Jamestown senior Jackson Walters tore his ACL, there was only one thought running through his mind.
It was: "There is a purpose for this."
"I'm still finding the (purpose) out every day," Walters said in a recent interview. "I've grown in areas that I didn't know I needed to grow. I actually take my experience as a blessing. I'm thankful to have went through it and I know I've become better from it."
Walters tore his ACL and meniscus in the University of Jamestown football team's third game of the 2025 season. He underwent surgery in Fargo last fall. The typical recovery timeline for a torn ACL is nine months. The ACL and meniscus tear was Walters' first-ever season-ending injury.
Now, nearly eight months after his surgery, Walters is just about ready to step into his final year as a Jamestown athlete.
"Right now I'm at about seven and a half months post surgery," Walters said. "... Rehab has definitely been a new process for me. This was my first true injury, so there has been some challenges we've had to overcome, but I couldn't have asked for a better group helping me.
"I started with the PT (physical therapy) team at the hospital, then was cleared to shift my rehab to Ryder (Weischedel), our strength coach, as well as Nolan (Love) and the AT (athletic training) staff at UJ. I'm grateful to have people in my corner who I know care about me and want to see me succeed. I ended up having a slight setback during my initial recovery but we are right on pace to be fully cleared to start fall camp."
The Jimmies will begin fall camp at the beginning of August.
"To start out I had to rely on PT to keep me as in shape as possible, but now I've been cleared to do all football workouts," Walters said. "It's been a lot of fun being back with the guys and often joking that I have to relearn how to move like an athlete because I was restricted for so long."
Walters has been with the Jimmie football team since he graduated from Jamestown High School in the spring of 2023. In his freshman year, he was rostered as a linebacker and ended the season with nine solo and 15 total tackles. In the 2024 season, he was switched to defensive back, where he accumulated nine tackles.
Last fall, Walters was on pace for his best stat year yet. In just three games, Walters made 13 solo and 17 total tackles. When the Jimmies played Augustana on Sept. 6, Walters tallied nine tackles in the game.
Jimmie fans should expect even more out of him this year.
"This summer I will be trying to push to give myself the best chance of success this year," Walters said. "Because I'm coming back from injury, I think that means I need to come into this season in the best shape and readiness I have ever been.
"Personally, I plan to give everything I have left," he said. "I'm grateful for the community of Jamestown and all of the support over the years. For both myself and everyone, I will leave everything I have on the field. There has been so many teammates, coaches, family and friends that have been a part of my life, and I'm leaving nothing in the tank to make everyone proud."
Having Walters back will be one of the many changes for the Jimmies this season.
The University of Jamestown announced on June 8 that Brian Mistro, a University of Jamestown alumnus and current head football coach, has been named athletic director. Mistro is set to take over the athletic director position previously held by Austin Hieb, who accepted the deputy athletic director position at South Dakota State University on May 28. Mistro had coached the Jimmies since 2019.
"I was really excited for Coach Mistro," Walters said. "He is truly a great person, dad, coach and just someone you can go to. I'll miss him as a coach. But, I'm also excited that he will still be around and able to spend more time with his family now that he doesn't have the crazy coaching hours."
As part of the leadership transition, the Jimmies' associate head coach Tom Dosch will assume the role of UJ head football coach, a position he last held 19 years ago. Mistro was coached by Dosch during his first three seasons on campus and was enshrined in UJ's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024 along with Dosch as a member of the NAIA national playoff-bound 2007 Jimmie football team.
Dosch previously served as UJ's head football coach from 2004 to 2007. In those four years, he led the Jimmies to 25 wins, one Dakota Athletic Conference championship and back-to-back appearances in the NAIA playoffs.
"I've come to know Coach Dosch really well throughout last year, and it's evident that he cares and wants the best for you as a player," Walters said. "Almost every morning at weights, he comes up to me and asks me how I feel and how the knee is feeling. I think he's tired of my response being " I'll be ready Coach" often with a death stare, but he asks every time, and I'm excited to play under him this year. He is very knowledgeable, so I'm excited to pick his brain and learn more throughout the year."
Dosch will look to improve upon the Jimmies' 1-9 record from last season. UJ's one win in its inaugural season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) came against Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 27.
"I'm really excited this year to play with a little bigger chip on my shoulder personally and as well as a team," Walters said. "I was able to see things from a different lens last year, which was a blessing, but it just made me excited, and I can't wait to prove what team we are this year."
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It was: "There is a purpose for this."
"I'm still finding the (purpose) out every day," Walters said in a recent interview. "I've grown in areas that I didn't know I needed to grow. I actually take my experience as a blessing. I'm thankful to have went through it and I know I've become better from it."
Walters tore his ACL and meniscus in the University of Jamestown football team's third game of the 2025 season. He underwent surgery in Fargo last fall. The typical recovery timeline for a torn ACL is nine months. The ACL and meniscus tear was Walters' first-ever season-ending injury.
Now, nearly eight months after his surgery, Walters is just about ready to step into his final year as a Jamestown athlete.
"Right now I'm at about seven and a half months post surgery," Walters said. "... Rehab has definitely been a new process for me. This was my first true injury, so there has been some challenges we've had to overcome, but I couldn't have asked for a better group helping me.
"I started with the PT (physical therapy) team at the hospital, then was cleared to shift my rehab to Ryder (Weischedel), our strength coach, as well as Nolan (Love) and the AT (athletic training) staff at UJ. I'm grateful to have people in my corner who I know care about me and want to see me succeed. I ended up having a slight setback during my initial recovery but we are right on pace to be fully cleared to start fall camp."
The Jimmies will begin fall camp at the beginning of August.
"To start out I had to rely on PT to keep me as in shape as possible, but now I've been cleared to do all football workouts," Walters said. "It's been a lot of fun being back with the guys and often joking that I have to relearn how to move like an athlete because I was restricted for so long."
Walters has been with the Jimmie football team since he graduated from Jamestown High School in the spring of 2023. In his freshman year, he was rostered as a linebacker and ended the season with nine solo and 15 total tackles. In the 2024 season, he was switched to defensive back, where he accumulated nine tackles.
Last fall, Walters was on pace for his best stat year yet. In just three games, Walters made 13 solo and 17 total tackles. When the Jimmies played Augustana on Sept. 6, Walters tallied nine tackles in the game.
Jimmie fans should expect even more out of him this year.
"This summer I will be trying to push to give myself the best chance of success this year," Walters said. "Because I'm coming back from injury, I think that means I need to come into this season in the best shape and readiness I have ever been.
"Personally, I plan to give everything I have left," he said. "I'm grateful for the community of Jamestown and all of the support over the years. For both myself and everyone, I will leave everything I have on the field. There has been so many teammates, coaches, family and friends that have been a part of my life, and I'm leaving nothing in the tank to make everyone proud."
Having Walters back will be one of the many changes for the Jimmies this season.
The University of Jamestown announced on June 8 that Brian Mistro, a University of Jamestown alumnus and current head football coach, has been named athletic director. Mistro is set to take over the athletic director position previously held by Austin Hieb, who accepted the deputy athletic director position at South Dakota State University on May 28. Mistro had coached the Jimmies since 2019.
"I was really excited for Coach Mistro," Walters said. "He is truly a great person, dad, coach and just someone you can go to. I'll miss him as a coach. But, I'm also excited that he will still be around and able to spend more time with his family now that he doesn't have the crazy coaching hours."
As part of the leadership transition, the Jimmies' associate head coach Tom Dosch will assume the role of UJ head football coach, a position he last held 19 years ago. Mistro was coached by Dosch during his first three seasons on campus and was enshrined in UJ's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024 along with Dosch as a member of the NAIA national playoff-bound 2007 Jimmie football team.
Dosch previously served as UJ's head football coach from 2004 to 2007. In those four years, he led the Jimmies to 25 wins, one Dakota Athletic Conference championship and back-to-back appearances in the NAIA playoffs.
"I've come to know Coach Dosch really well throughout last year, and it's evident that he cares and wants the best for you as a player," Walters said. "Almost every morning at weights, he comes up to me and asks me how I feel and how the knee is feeling. I think he's tired of my response being " I'll be ready Coach" often with a death stare, but he asks every time, and I'm excited to play under him this year. He is very knowledgeable, so I'm excited to pick his brain and learn more throughout the year."
Dosch will look to improve upon the Jimmies' 1-9 record from last season. UJ's one win in its inaugural season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) came against Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 27.
"I'm really excited this year to play with a little bigger chip on my shoulder personally and as well as a team," Walters said. "I was able to see things from a different lens last year, which was a blessing, but it just made me excited, and I can't wait to prove what team we are this year."
Continue reading...
