An inside look into Toby Jacobson’s high school career
What do you get when you cross a dedicated student with a talented athlete? Senior Toby Jacobson. There are many student-athletes at Minnehaha, but few shine as brightly as Jacobson. What is the secret to his success?
According to Collin Quinn, who knows Jacobson from the perspectives of a football coach and social studies teacher, Toby is “someone that is grateful and works hard at whatever he is involved in. He is a man of faith and has a deep love for his family.”
Jacobson has had many highlights in his illustrious high school athletic career. He played defensive back for the SMB Wolfpack, racking up 5 interceptions and 55 tackles in his junior year. He also had a 45-yard receiving touchdown. In his senior year, Jacobson had an interception, rushing touchdown, and 57 tackles in just five games.
For his football career Toby’s awards have included: All-District 1st Team, MFCA’s Most Valuable Team- mate Award, the Williams Award (Defensive Player of the Year) and Wolfpack Tackler of the Year.
Not only is Jacobson stellar at football, but he is also a talented baseball player as well. Jacobson has played infielder on varsity since he was a freshman. He had a batting average of .400 as a sophomore.
“Our [baseball] team has a history of winning,” Jacobson said. “One of my main goals has been to set up our team to be successful in the next two to three years, and have an impact on the younger guys.”
Not only did he dominate athletics, but he also conquered the classroom. Jacobson had a 3.9 unweighted GPA. It wasn’t without great sacrifice and determination.
“I could explain his hard work,” Quinn said, “by telling you about the hours he spent studying for each test, re-writing papers, and coming in for extra help to make sure he left no stone unturned.”
Jacobson recently committed to St. Olaf College to continue his growth as a student-athlete. He will play safety for the Oles, joining former Wolfpack players including Andrew Mollison (’19), Siegel Howard (’19), Devin CasaDeCalvo (’20), and Deonta Thomas (’20).
“I like the coaching staff a lot,” Jacobson said. “Coach [James] Kilian recruited me, and he is a really good guy, a holy guy. I can notice comparisons in him to coach Quinn.” True to his nature, he added: “I wanted to put academics first.”
The logo Jacobson’s advisory designed for t-shirts they sold to students to raise money for an organization in Guatemala. The organization, which they chose to work with for their CFE project, works to provide young women with education, leadership training and botanical skills.
Jacobson has had a positive impact on the Minnehaha community.
“I wasn’t going to go here until about two weeks before the school year was supposed to start,” he said. “I was supposed to go to another school. Minnehaha wasn’t even on my radar, [but] when I first got here, it felt right. It was the best decision I have ever made.”