As a freshman, he was a diaper dandy who held his own with his championship bred upper class teammates. As a super sophomore, he had what St. Joe head coach John Baker called, “breakout year scoring a lot of touchdowns for us.”
Now, heading into his junior year, Jerrian “Stank” King is continuing the process of going from a standout young player for the St. Joe Fighting Irish to one of the focal points and elder statesmen.
“I definitely think that I’m one of the leaders on the team heading into this season,” King said. “Most of the players on the team are juniors just like me and will be asked to take the lead in the games, at practice and in the classroom.”
As a defensive back and slot receiver, King has displayed his speed, quickness, and hawkishness for the ball for a couple of years, much to the delight of Irish fans. But his athletic ability will be complimented by his mental and emotional growth as a student of the game.
“When you are a playmaker on your team, you have to learn when it’s time to play a different role and when it’s time to take the game over,” he explained. “Football is a team game and when you become a leader, you start to look at how everyone on the team has a job to do on each play to make the team better.”
King has been honing his skills over the summer participating in camps and working out twice a day.
Although he has two full seasons ahead of him, including the upcoming season, King has several colleges appraising his talents for the next level. Programs that have shown interest include Mississippi State, South Carolina, Belhaven, and Alcorn State. King said that his ability to play at the next level revolves around possibly taking his last couple of years of high school to focus on football only. He also plays basketball and participates in track and field. His coach just wants to see the growth process above the neck continue.
“The key for him is to continue to mature as a young man,” Baker said. “If you ask most college coaches, they are looking for players who have leadership ability.”
As the team prepares to enter the 2021 season, King and his teammates have experienced being the hunted and the hunter.
For the past four seasons, the Irish have come into the season as the favorites to win it all. But this year, they are underdogs.
“I’d rather be in that position and surprise everybody rather than be the favorites and not meet expectations,” Baker said.
If King’s view of the upcoming season is any indication of his growth and maturity, then the Irish should have a successful campaign.
“Our overall goal is to win the state, but it’s good to focus on winning the district, each game and each play in the games before reaching that goal,” King said. “That’s the way we need to look at the season.”
