From Freshman To Varsity
Running back Jacob Banes goes from the freshman football team to practicing with varsity by end of season
Photo Submitted By Jacob Banes
Running back Jacob Banes has the ball handed to him by quarterback Maxwell Bradley. “I enjoy playing with Jacob. He is a fun person…and a great leader,” Bradley said. Bradley added that he has known Banes for a while but only started playing football with him in middle school.
The Tigers freshman football team finished with a record of 6-2, causing star players like running back Jacob Banes to gain varsity traction.
Banes has been playing football since elementary school and started playing due to interest.
“… It seemed fun and it looked cool,” Banes said.
Banes decided that he enjoyed football’s aggressiveness.
“My favorite part of football is hitting other people,” Banes said.
Banes has made many footballing memories. However, his favorite didn’t come from him playing running back but rather him being on the D-line.
“I think back when I was in third grade, I was a little chunky, but I was getting a lot of sacks because I was very big. So they put me at D-line, and that year I got MVP,” Banes said.
After an impressive display this season as running back on the freshman team, Banes was invited to practice with the varsity tigers.
“…It was actually pretty fun, but boring at the same time. I didn’t get many reps because as I learned there are very complicated plays…” Banes said.
After his recent success, Banes is already planning for the future.
“[In the future I plan to] maybe get some engineering classes or like, if that doesn’t work out, I go to the military. If football works out, I’ll just go to college and play football,” Banes said.
Banes also had some advice for younger football players and new players just starting out.
“…Get as many reps as you can… your mentality has to be up because you need that to win games and work out during the off-season and during the season you’d be better,” Banes said.
Banes has a few mentors to thank for his success.
“My inspirations are quarterback Max Bradley and coach Aaron Carroll,” Banes said.
Banes has managed to maintain calm under pressure during games this season, which is something he’s learned from Bradley and a big factor in his success.
“…Staying calm is a mental thing…” Banes said.
Banes is excited about the upcoming season and the opportunity to be able to possibly play varsity.
“It’ll be like a dream,” Banes said.
