Almost every young football player dreams of playing under the bright lights of Friday night high school football.
Former Southwest Bandits standout Jay Jones has accomplished that dream and been a defensive standout in the process for his hometown of Beckley.
While he will still be counted on to guide the defense from his middle linebacker position, Jones is being asked to take on another leadership role this season.
Friday night when Beckley opens the 2022 high school football season at Riverside, Jones will move under center as the starting quarterback.
“It’s a big change, but I will play wherever coach puts me,” Jones said. “My freshman year they asked me to be the backup quarterback because they didn’t have anyone else coming in. I have been Maddex (McMillen’s) backup all the years I have been here. The game is different and a lot faster on the offesnive side, but I enjoy being the leader on both sides.”
After playing fullback and tight end last year, Beckley head coach Street Sarrett is confident Jones can get the job done as the signal caller.
“Jay is a hard-nosed kid that has wrestled all his life. He is a true leader and people follow him,” Sarrett said. “He came in two years ago against Bluefield when Maddex had to step out for a few plays with an injury and did fine. I look for big things out of him.”
Even though he will be starting under center for the first time, Jones has had the advantage of watching arguably the most prolific passer in Beckley history.
“Trust your pocket,” Jones said about the advice he took from McMillen. “Nine times out of 10 if you don’t, you are going to run or throw it away. I have learned to trust my guys in front of me and trust my receivers.”
Then there is the question of Jones now being the one receiving the hits as opposed to dishing them out.
“I am used to,” Jones said laughing. “I’m usually the one giving the hits, so it can’t be too much worse back there.”
While Jones will give all he has, and then some on the offensive side, his true home is on defense.
“I love being on defense. Everything is so much like slow motion for me. It seems a lot more natural on that side,” Jones said. “I was rover a couple of times over the years, but I wanted to transfer over to middle linebacker. I feel much better there.”
Standout linebacker did not seem to be a likely tag that Jones would wear when he entered high school.
“I was on special teams occasionally as a freshman,” Jones explained. “As a sophomore I saw more action on special teams and got in some at the end of games, but I was a smaller guy weighing around 130 pounds until I hit my junior year.”
Bigger, stronger and faster entering last season, Jones jumped to full-time varsity football in what seemed like a blink.
“It’s a big change for sure, but I love every minute of it. It’s a whole different aspect coming from JV to varsity,” Jones said. “The game is 10 times faster, but I adjusted quick. After the first scrimmage and the first game it felt natural from that point on.”
A big factor in Jones’ quick adjustment lies in his wrestling background which has also been a big part of his life from a young age.
“My main part in football is defense. Wrestling helps especially with mental attitude and toughness,” Jones said. “Wrestling helps my tackling as well. Taking a shot in wrestling, it’s almost the same form as tackling in football. I feel like if you play football, you should wrestle too. It helps with both sports.”
One thing that can not be questioned about the Beckley standout is his toughness.
During his career has had battle a broken hip as a sophomore before breaking his thumb in the Princeton game last year.
“He broke his thumb and had to have surgery on it,” Sarrett said. “He was out a couple of games and came back and played with a cast on his thumb.”
The toughest injury, however, came last year in the final minutes of the playoff game against University when Jones came in for a tackle and broke his jaw.
“That following Monday was the first wrestling practice,” Jones said. “I wasn’t supposed to come back and wrestle until February, but I ended up wrestling Dec. 28.”
While a unique method was used to help Jones recover quicker than normal, he did have to deal with some serious weight loss.
“I had a really good plastic surgeon. Instead of wiring my jaw shut inside, he decided to put titanium plates in the front and back of my jaw,” Jones said. “I am glad I wasn’t wired shut because I could eat some food, but it was still painful. I also lost quite a bit of weight, so that set me back some for wrestling. It’s hard to maintain your calories. Right at the end of football season I was 189 and I dropped all the way down to 160.”
Then there was also the mental side of wrestling and knowing he was coming back from a broken jaw.
“Whenever I first started wrestling again, if I got hit in my jaw, I would feel a little tingling. Other than that I felt normal out there,” Jones said. “I wrestled a tournament at Greenbrier West and competed against (a wrestler from) Greenbrier East and won that match. That was a really big morale boost.”
Wrestling up, Jones not only made his way back to competition, he found his way onto the podium at the state tournament with a third place finish.
“I was surprised at myself,” Jones admitted. “I wish I had that one semifinal match back, but I am glad I was able to make it that far. I placed sixth at states as a sophomore wrestling at 170 (pounds). I wrestled 195 last year and I plan on staying there. I want to cut to that weight. I was the lighter guy last year and I was always under.”
Jones says he would like to play football or wrestle in college depending on the opportunity that comes his way, but until then it is all about football and getting Beckley back in the postseason.
“This year we have a lot of faith in each other and we know we can be a special team. That is what we are excited for,” Jones said.
