No matter what position he plays, Aquinas High School junior Jack Rhodes excels on the football field.
“His freshman year the quarterback got hurt and he (Rhodes) played the last six games as our starting quarterback. He had well over 1,000 yards and led us to the playoffs as a freshman,” said James Leonard, Aquinas High School head football coach.
Last year, Leonard and his coaching staff had a dilemma. They had two strong quarterbacks in Rhodes and Jim Franklin. Ultimately, they went with Franklin in the starting spot.
“Jack handled it really well. He’s a great team player. He didn’t sulk about it at all. He was very positive. As a coaching staff, we knew he was too special of a player to be sitting on the bench,” Leonard said.
The third game of the season, they put him in at wide receiver, and once again, he stood out, racking up 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns. On the season, he made 57 receptions for 1,084 yards and scored 16 touchdowns.
He made All-State last year and was named preseason All-State this year.
Since the move to wide receiver was something completely new for him, Rhodes said it brought with it some challenges with it.
“Never having played it before, not knowing what to do,” he said. “You’ve got to know a lot of different stuff for receiver than you do for quarterback. The coaches did a great job of helping me.”
And there was a lot more running involved.
Rhodes said he asked a lot of questions to get the position right, but he feels he had some advantages having played quarterback.
“From being quarterback, I know how he (Franklin) thinks. That definitely helps. We’re good friends and we’re able to talk to each other about certain things. It helps us get on the same page,” he said.
It’s been a move he’s enjoyed.
“It’s fun. There’s more action than at quarterback,” he said.
Rhodes already has an offer from Kent State and has garnered interest from ACC and Ivy League colleges, but he hasn’t made any decisions yet. He just wants to continue to play the sport he loves.
Not only does he excel on the gridiron, but Rhodes is a leader on the golf course and in the classroom. Golf, however, is just for fun.
“He’s a very high academic kid. His mom and dad did a great job raising him,” Leonard said.
Rhodes and the Fightin’ Irish will open the season at Athens Academy at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
