From Spring Grove to Worcester, Petersen’s journey defined by tenacity

Spring Grove, Illinois, is one of those places where everybody knows everybody. Tucked among corn fields just minutes south of the Wisconsin border, the quiet village of less than 6,000 people basks in the beauty of patented Chicago summers — with its residents spending days boating on nearby lakes, throwing blowout celebrations for the Fourth of July, and gathering for country concerts and bonfires.

It’s something out of a Hallmark movie, or at the very least, it’s a Midwestern version of Friday Night Lights. Come autumn, the town’s focus turns to football, and on Fridays, all eyes are on Richmond Burton High School. The community rallies around its kids: the village president is the PA announcer at games, and local restaurants are quick to donate pasta for team dinners, no questions asked. After road games, local businesses stay open late and locals flock to greet and cheer on the football players as they return. There’s a comfort within the community, and it’s a place permeated with loyalty and commitment. 

Before Jacob Petersen moved 1,000 miles away to play football at Holy Cross, he was one of those kids — part of a tight-knit friend group that has stuck together since preschool, all the way through a state championship run in high school. 

“We had that bond — we're just best friends,” Petersen said. “We might not be the most talented team that we're going to go play against, but because we've been friends, we've got a better culture — because of that, we were able to beat them.”

It goes without saying that Petersen is proud of his roots. He comes from a blue-collar family and area, where hard work is the standard. Who Petersen is today is undoubtedly a culmination of his upbringing: he’s loyal to his loved ones and committed to bettering himself and everyone around him.  

“I take great pride in that, because of my family — they taught me how to work hard,” Petersen said. “No matter your situation, no matter how big or small or how athletic you are, as long as you work hard enough, you'll give yourself a shot to overcome anything.”

He’s a goofy guy, who finds joy in the simple things: good music, golf, Culver’s, quality time with friends and family. He isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind — and that’s usually a witty remark of some sort. 

And what’s at his core translates directly to his play on the football field. 

“He's not only a hard worker in a sense of, he puts his nose down and works, but he also takes criticism extremely well,” said Matt Schell, Holy Cross’ tight ends coach. “So you can hold him to a high standard. You can basically tell him: ‘Hey, you're doing a lot, but you're not doing enough.’ And ‘enough’ for him is really more than anybody else — and he takes that to heart. 

“You never have to worry about work ethic, or him being a guy with a care factor, or a guy who's going to be in the right spot. He does all those things so well.”

Petersen is a prototypical tight end: 6-foot-4, physical and strong, a hard-nosed player who also brings athleticism and speed to the roster. A self-proclaimed “pest,” he’s a refined blocker, but when he gets his opportunities to catch the ball, he’ll make the most of them. As Holy Cross commences Patriot League play this Saturday, he’s recorded a team-high 17 receptions for 282 yards in five games, and scored a pair of touchdowns in 2024. 

He always knows there’s something more that he can do to improve, win or loss — no matter what, you can always work harder. 

“Our bond is very strong,” Schell said, “just because we grew up very similarly, blue collar — when people think you can only do so much, you prove them wrong, and then you do more.”

“He has an unwavering commitment,” said Petersen’s father, Tim, “to becoming exceptional.”

Growing up in Spring Grove, football was a natural sport for Petersen to latch on to. Even though his father and his older brother never played football, all of Petersen’s friends were playing, so it was a logical fit. 

His start to the sport was delayed. Right before the first year he was allowed to play, his younger brother unpromptedly came up to Petersen, who was sitting on the couch, and kicked his arm, breaking his elbow — and sidelining him for the season. When he joined a year later than his friends, he started a bit shaky on the tactics, but he was drawn to the sport and the level of competition involved. 

Petersen gravitated toward the defensive side of the ball and also played some running back — he loved scoring touchdowns and also blocking so his best friend, Nick Legnaioli, could do the same. In middle school, he was still the smallest on his team, but excelled at slot receiver and corner. As he progressed through high school, he played defensive end, but didn’t hit a growth spurt until his junior year and heading into his senior year, when he grew about three or four inches and put on a substantial amount of weight. 

Early in high school, Petersen notes, he had enough talent to mess around and have fun at practice with his friends, and still turn around and win every game. But as he got older, he realized that he had the talent to play collegiately, and it was time to go all in. With the support of his parents, he began strength training and sought extra coaching to improve his running form (he went from “running like a newborn giraffe” to actually having full control over his body, as he notes). And as he grew physically, his confidence grew that he could, in fact, become a Division I football player. 

But even with the dedication and effort, he hasn’t lost sight of how much fun he has playing the sport. One of his fondest memories was his team’s run to a state title his junior year. Heading into a quarterfinal game against the defending state champions, they arrived at the field, which had been completely iced over. In an effort to remove the ice, the school had put down salt, in turn making the field a complete mud pit — in essence turning the game into a classic mud bowl. Following an upset victory, the community rushed the field, celebrating atop the shredded-up soil. 

That paved the way for a confident run through the playoffs. After a road win, Petersen and his teammates returned to Spring Grove with a police escort, where the town arrived in droves, cheering from the back of pickup trucks while greeting the victors.

As Petersen took in the pure joy of the experience, he realized just how influential the sport was in his life. 

“That's when I knew football was inside of me,” he said, “and that I wouldn't be the same without it.”

Petersen and his family didn’t travel much growing up, so for him, the idea of even visiting a place 1,000 miles away in the Northeast that had a population of more than 200,000 was daunting — much less the idea of moving there. There was a comfort that came with his hometown: he had the same friends since he was four years old, and never really had to make new ones. So when Petersen came to Holy Cross, he was initially a bit reserved and shy. 

“I could never imagine myself with a bunch of strangers at that point,” he said.”I didn't know anything about these guys.” 

But with the influence of veterans on the team, who were warm and welcoming, he began to come out of his shell. Over the years, he’s grown as a leader, and has become much more vocal as a senior, but he has always emphasized practicing what he preaches. Even amid adversity or discomfort, Petersen hasn’t lost sight of his larger goals.

“That situation was a big leap, and nobody could stop that,” Tim said. “The difference is, what do you do? Do you put your tail between your legs, or do you puff your chest out and make something happen? …You keep chugging forward, one foot in front of the other, until you get it right.

“And I think he got it right,” Tim added.

Petersen played a substantial amount throughout his freshman year, appearing in 12 games and earning one start, and he anticipated a strong sophomore campaign. 

He remembers the exact date — August 11, 2022 — when that was put on pause. On the last play of practice, he went up for a catch, and when he came down with the ball, he landed weirdly on his knee, tearing his PCL. 

He spent the next few weeks rehabbing it, anticipating that it was an injury he’d be able to come back from with relative ease, but he tweaked his knee again midseason. Even through persistent care and work to return to the field, his knee was never really quite ready, and he had surgery at the end of the year. He missed all of the spring season, but finally returned at the start of his junior season. 

Another bout of bad luck carried through that year — after his first career touchdown at Yale three games into 2023, he re-injured his PCL in that game, but was able to play through it. A few games later, he fractured his leg, and suffered a hamstring injury later in the season when he returned. 

Amid the roadblocks, Petersen countered the shock of, “what am I going to do when I can’t play football?” with the same persistence present throughout the rest of his life. He found ways to continue getting stronger and staying fit, so that he didn’t miss a beat when he was finally able to play.

“At some point, you’ve got to just tie your shoes and you’ve got to just keep working,” Petersen said. “No one's going to go back in time and have me not land on my knee in that situation. 

You just have to get up and keep working. And then that's kind of just been my whole motto every time: Okay, this sucks, but keep working. There's something at the end of the tunnel that's going to be worth it all.” 

“We have a high work ethic in anything we do,” said Petersen’s mom, Janelle. “Whether it's our work, day to day business, doing work in the yard or anything — you have to commit yourself and follow through all the way until it's completed and done right. You don't want to do things halfway, you have to do them all the way. And I feel like we instilled that in our kids very well. They all work hard, in sports and in their occupations. Just doing that overall has helped in anything in our life.”

Both Tim and Janelle had difficult upbringings, and their lives revolved around work at a young age out of necessity to support their families. The two worked multiple jobs at a time as they raised Jacob’s older brother and sister, eventually saving up to move to Spring Grove, where they pushed in all of their chips and started their own garbage company when Jacob was still extremely young. 

Throughout Jacob’s entire childhood, he recalls that his father would be up at 3:00 in the morning and not return home until 8:00 or 9:00 in the evening most days. His mother would also work in her home office starting early in the mornings and until late in the evening. Sacrifices were made, with the family forgoing trips and even time at home, but there was always one non-negotiable: Without fail, Tim and Janelle would always be at their kids’ games and practices. 

For Tim and Janelle, they recall growing up with their parents never having time to be at their activities, and they wanted to flip the script for their own children.

“We had our priorities,” Tim said, “and our kids were our priorities.”

Even with long hours worked, the close-knit Petersen household was always loud and active,  and there was always some sort of competition, whether through video games, backyard football or roller hockey in the street. Wednesday nights were reserved for living room karaoke, where after a long day of work, each family member got to pick their own song for a group singalong. A varied medley containing everything from “Dixieland Delight” by Alabama to Guns N’ Roses, Eminem, Jake Paul and Poison eventually devolved into tears of joy. The playlist was inconsistent at best, but the laughter remained a constant.

As Petersen has grown in his time at Holy Cross, he’s also found his people, even far away from home. His suitemates and closest friends — teammates Jake Jarmolowich, Curtis Harris-Lopez, Jonathon Wood, Jordan Fuller, Ryan Ruane, Joe Pesansky and Frankie Monte — bring the perfect blend of laughter and support for Petersen. 

On the whole, the Holy Cross culture has felt reminiscent of the same closeness he experienced with his hometown friends growing up. Throughout the Crusaders’ championship run in his first few years on The Hill — even when facing bigger or stronger competition — a belief has remained that with trust, and a tight-knit bond, that anything was possible. 

“It makes it feel,” Petersen said, “like I didn’t lose that part by leaving home.”

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