Grady Jarrett 2010 Player Of The Year

Grady Jarrett is on the radar of dozens of college football recruiters and with good reason. The 6-2, 280-pound defensive lineman finished his junior season with 18 1⁄2 sacks and became one of the most dominating defensive forces in the state.
He’s also a pretty good wrestler.

Jarrett, the Citizen’s Rockdale High School Athlete of the Year, moved from the gridiron to the mat and didn’t miss a beat. After leading the Bulldogs to the state football semifinals, Jarrett reached the Traditional State wrestling tournament for the first time and placed fourth in the heavyweight division.Photo courtesy of scout.com
Grady Jarrett is the Citizen’s
Rockdale High School Athlete of the Year

While the 2010-11 wrestling season is expected to be Jarrett’s last on the mat, his football career could be just beginning.

Jarrett has several Division 1 offers and has attended camps at Auburn, South Carolina and Georgia Tech as well as a number of pre-season combines. With a strong senior season, he should have his pick of which high-profile college to suit up for.

“So far he hasn’t knocked it down to where he wants to go. I don’t know if he wants me to put the names out, (but) he's a Division I guy,” Rockdale football coach Mike Etheridge said. “If you watch on film, his determination and grit that he has is really unreal. If he ever does get blocked he won’t get blocked again. He’s just so doggone quick off the ball.”

That quickness helps Jarrett in the wrestling room as well. After a disappointing loss in the Traditional Sectionals as a sophomore, Jarrett solidified himself as one of the top heavyweights in Class AAAA this past year. Though he lost a 6-2 decision to eventual state champion Logan Winkles of Upson Lee in the state semifinals, Jarrett still picked up his first state medal in helping the Bulldogs to a top-10 finish.

“Coming right off of football, it was almost like he didn’t miss a beat from (2009),” Bulldogs wrestling coach Craig Hargrove said. “We knew there were some things he had to work on, on his feet and taking his shots. He’s got a good shot, single, double-leg, which most heavyweights don’t have. It ... worked out for him and got him a state medal. He is very athletic and he’s a competitor and I think that’s kind of what puts him on top, makes him such a great athlete in football and wrestling and probably whatever he wants to do.”

Both Etheridge and Hargrove get one more year with Jarrett. The football team brings back every key defensive player to a team that was two wins short of a state championship, while the wrestling team loses only one state placer. Jarrett will be at the forefront in both situations.

“I think he’s got his eye on a state title,” Hargrove said. “I think he’s definitely capable of getting there and getting the job done.”

Said Etheridge: “I wish he was going to be around a couple more years.”

This Article is from June 16, 2010 by Kurt Aschermann, Jr of Rockdale Citizen Newspaper.

"Congratulations Grady"

The Touchdown Football Booster Club!

| More...