August 23, 2011
The focus in the upcoming season on the Valley Christian Warriors will be on running back Byron Marshall. But opponents should not overlook Marshall's backfield partner, Jarrod Lawson, also a 2012 prospect who plays both running back and linebacker.
At 5-foot-8 and 190 pounds, Lawson helped Valley Christian to finish last season at 11-2 but was defeated by eventual state champion Palo Alto in the playoffs. Lawson started on varsity as a junior at both the running back and linebacker positions. He had 18 rushing touchdowns while earning first Team All WCAL and 2011 Male Athlete of the Year Award for Valley Christian as only a junior. The latter achievement is rather significant considering Valley Christian had the aforementioned Marshall, 2011 lineman Justin Satele, and 2011 center fielder Shawon Dunston Jr. (committed to Vanderbilt but decided to go to the Chicago Cubs farm system).
Valley Christian employs the wing T formation that relies heavily on the running backs. As a result, agile and skilled running backs are a necessity in this scheme. Lawson's performance on the field is comparable to the running styles of Oklahoma Sooner Adrian Peterson and UCLA Bruin Maurice Jones Drew.
On defense, Lawson is a ferocious tackler and is key in calling out the defensive schemes to his teammates. As a result, he plays like Mississippi Rebel Patrick Willis.
Lawson will be going into his second year as a varsity starter on both sides of the ball. During this summer, he worked on switching the ball from left to right to improve his ball security in addition to drills to improve his agility, strength, and footwork. Lawson also attended camps at Boise State, Oregon, San Jose State, and Stanford.
Colleges that are in contact with Lawson include Boise State, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Fresno State, Idaho, Navy, Northwestern, Sacramento State, San Jose State, UC Davis, Washington, Washington State, and Yale. Lawson says that Cornell and UC Davis were in heavy contact with him during the summer and several of the other programs were interested in seeing him play again in September. His conversations with the various coaches have them wanting him to play running back or cornerback in college but Lawson would prefer to play running back as he believes that he is a playmaker on the offensive side.
Lawson has a preference to stay on the west coast as his family is local but is not against leaving sunny San Jose to another part of the country for a football program that is best suited for him. Lawson sports a 4.00 GPA and has a qualifying SAT score as he considers Math to be his best subject and has the desire to major in something that would allow him to be an FBI agent.
His analytical skills are also applicable to his football program decision making as he says this about his future program, "I want a school that can continue to teach me the game and get me to the next level. I want to be a leader and not a follower on the football team. I believe that football is not only a physical game but a mental game and focus is a big key for me. I'm going to take notes in every session and learn more and more from not only my coaches but teammates as well."
He considers last year to be challenging because he was switching to varsity and had to learn both positions on the fly. Lawson says, "It was extremely challenging but I spent extra time with my coaches and really studied the play sheets. It was mentally draining because I'm a perfectionist and I want to do everything right. I put in the extra effort and had a great season. I ended up getting WCAL 1st team all league. Now I'm back in my comfort zone at running back so I'm excited for people to see what I'm capable of."
His individual goal for the upcoming season is to score 20 touchdowns while averaging 10 tackles a game. His team goal is to go undefeated and win a CCS championship for Valley Christian while being a strong leader for his team. Watch for Lawson to lay down the law in San Jose this upcoming season.
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