WS Chronicle

Jadon Blair is a name to be on the lookout for in the next few years when it comes to Forsyth County sports. The 6’2” 154-pound freshman has turned heads as the quarterback for the Mt. Tabor JV football team and as a forward on the JV basketball team.

Blair had high expectations for himself coming into his freshman year. He was confident in his ability to play on the high school level immediately.

“Freshman year for football, we were not able to accomplish being conference champs because of some stuff that happened earlier in the season with some game we could have won, but we didn’t,” Blair said about his football season. “For basketball, our goal is to be conference champs and we are on the right path right now.

“In the David Lash, I actually did well in that tournament. I won MVP off of that, so my ninth-grade year so far is going really good.”

Playing multiple positions on offense and defense has helped Blair in his development as a quarterback. Knowing where people are going to be defensively helps him anticipate his throws and read coverages better.

While he is a confident player, Blair admits there were some nerves making the transition from middle school to high school sports.

“Coming in I didn’t want to be the reason we lost,” he said. “I didn’t want to be the person that the team hates, or the coaches don’t like, but the nerves were there, especially going into high school starting as a freshman quarterback.”

Not only does Blair have height in his favor, he is also mobile as well. This combination of size and speed allows him to extend plays to buy time to find an open receiver, or to just run it himself.

“Being an athlete really helps me with things like being able to make plays, making defenders miss, and looking downfield,” Blair said about his athletic ability. “Even if nobody was open downfield, my athletic ability allowed me to scramble and get yards for the team.”

Playing football for most of his life has made Blair a tougher player on the basketball court. The hits he takes on the football field allows him to absorb contact better on the basketball court.

“Playing football really helps me develop that toughness,” said Blair. “Contact going up on a layup is really not going to phase me, I can still make the layup, just because of how much football toughens up a person.”

The confidence Blair gained from the football field carried over to the basketball court. He fully expected to be one of the go-to guys on the team.

“My goal was to be the guy, I wanted to be the best player on the team,” Blair said about playing basketball. “I wasn’t really focused on points. I just wanted to be that guy that the whole team depended on to make us win that game.”

Blair is very versatile on the basketball court. He is an impactful player on both ends of the floor and that is the way he likes it.

“Offensively, when I get the ball, I like to make things happen and get people open,” he said. “When I drive, people like to usually collapse on me, so I do that a lot to get one of my teammates open and get the assist.

“On defense, when they are bringing the ball up the court, when I pick up on the ball, they usually try to run their offense away from me. Even if they do, my teammates get there and trap and we can usually get a steal or deflection.”

Winning the MVP of the Lash Bracket of the Lash/Chronicle tournament brought Blair some added confidence. He says that award will not define his season, because he wants to continue playing at a high level through the end of the season.

Blair comes from a strong athletic bloodline; both his mother and father were collegiate athletes. His father Jay, who is a Reynolds alum, played collegiately for East Carolina University before a stint in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns. Blair says he didn’t receive any added pressure to try to live up to his father’s legacy.

“I wouldn’t say it was really pressure, I would just say that it was people saying the only reason I will make it is because of my dad, but I really don’t let that phase me like it used to,” Blair said.

When it comes to both sports, Blair says he would choose football over basketball, but for now he will enjoy playing both. He enjoys the atmosphere of Mt. Tabor High School and his favorite subject is math.

Blair’s father says he and his wife have noticed Blair’s athletic ability since he was a baby. Blair started playing basketball and football around the age of four and his ability has continued to blossom every year.

“Everything he is doing now, he has been doing since then,” Mr. Blair said about his son. “One thing that I pride my family dynamic on is we are all athletes. My wife and all four of my children are athletes and we are student-athletes. We all had something to give as far as tidbits of knowledge for him to take to the next step.”

Mr. Blair says it’s his wife Vonda who really gets in the ear of young Blair, giving him constructive criticism or just letting him know what he needs to hear at that moment. Mr. Blair prefers to just let his son know he is there if he needs him.

“I am there, I like to let him experience on his own and then help guide his response,” Mr. Blair stated.  

On the basketball court, Mr. Blair likes what he has seen from Jadon this year. “It starts with your defense” is something he likes to remind his son of frequently during the game.  

“What I see most is his attention to detail on the defensive end and his ability to finish on the offensive end,” Mr. Blair continued.

Mr. Blair thinks the sky’s the limit for his son, but that will be left up to Jadon by how much work he is willing to put in.

“You know I have my four Ds for success and that is not just when I was a head coach,” says Mr. Blair. “Discipline, desire, dedication, and determination; how he applies those four Ds will determine his level of success.”