Wednesday, June 14, was one of the best days of Jaquan Hart’s life, and it capped off one of the best months of his life.
That was the day the Thomson football and basketball standout signed his letter of intent to play football at Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kansas.
The signing ceremony came just weeks after Hart received his high school diploma as a graduate of Thomson High School. The triumph marked the fulfillment of an accomplishment that Hart had been working toward since he first picked up a pigskin at 10 years old.
Hart was born and raised in Thomson, which means he — like many others with Thomson-born pedigree — dreamed of one day donning that Bulldog black and gold.
“That’s what made me want to play football,” Hart said. “When I used to go to the high school games when I was little, I always knew that I wanted to play in the Brick Yard.”
The Brick Yard is that colloquial name given to the Thomson High football stadium. Talk to anyone who’s been around Thomson long enough, and you’ll discover that the stadium has its own mystique and unique lore about it that seems to magnetize young, home grown athletes to stay put and play for their hometown and school.
Hart would get his chance to be a Bulldog, and he made the most of it. He culminated his four-year career at Thomson by helping the school win a Class AA state championship last year — the school’s first state crown since the Luther Welsh-coached Bulldogs won it all in 2002 after a 15-0 season.
And Hart was much more than a bench warmer. Offensively, he didn’t catch the ball much in the Bulldogs’ run-heavy offensive scheme, but when he did, it usually went for chunk yardage. Hart had six receptions for 239 receiving yards — a 39.8 yards-per-catch average last season. He had one receiving touchdown, and an 80-yard grab in Thomson’s 32-27 state championship game win against Fitzgerald in Atlanta.
Defensively is where the 6-foot-3, 220 pound linebacker and tight end’s star shone the brightest. He registered 10 tackles in the title game. He finished second on the team in total stops with 122, including seven tackles for loss and 4.5 quarterback sacks.
His play not only earned him all-region honors, but it gave him a chance to play football at the next level, which also became a dream of his.
“I just knew football would be able to lead me to more opportunities on and off the field,” Hart said.
After his signing ceremony, Hart began preparing to leave Thomson and make the 1,187 mile trek to the Midwest to begin his new academic and athletic chapters. But that’s when the worst curve ball imaginable came.
Part of Hart’s preparation for college football was him going to take a routine yet required physical. He had no reason to think anything would be different about this one than any other. Just another box to check off on his way to his next dream.
“Everything was fine until I went and got my physical, and even there, at first, everything was good, except my blood pressure,” Hart said. “When I got home and let my mom look over my physical, she saw that the doctor did not sign off on me being cleared to play. So, my mom made me another appointment for the doc to sign off on the physical.”
It was in that next appointment where Hart began to understand the severity of what was happening in his body. He recalls how his doctor told him and his mom that something irregular was heard with regard to his heart. Hart was then sent to Doctors Hospital in Augusta for more tests.
“They ran those tests, and that’s when I got the news that I have a heart murmur and a leaky valve,” Hart said.
His doctor told him that it was a dangerous heart condition for him to have as an athlete, particularly in football and basketball. Hart isn’t shy about saying how deflated and defeated he felt after hearing that news and realizing he’d have to give up his opportunity to play college football and likely would never play the sport he loved most again.
“When I got the news, it definitely broke my heart,” he said. “For a while, I was lost, but I always knew God doesn’t make mistakes. But at first, my first thought was, ‘What am I going to do now?’”
It didn’t take too long for Hart to start formulating a Plan B. That’s partly attributed to the kind of support he’s received from family — both his blood relatives and those who bleed black and gold.
“I think my plan now is to become a football coach,” Hart said. “I see the benefit in becoming a coach because I still go around my high school and watch them practice. Me and our head coach, Michael Youngblood, we have a great relationship. We talk about football and life, and he gives me advice on what I can do now, despite what has happened to me. Even though I’ve graduated and am not playing for him anymore, he and the whole coaching staff still keeps in contact with me. They check up on me and encourage me.”
And now, though it wasn’t in the original plan he signed off on during that June 14 signing ceremony, Hart says he believes he’s starting to see some silver lining in what once was a dark cloud. He’s now turning his focus toward helping other athletes understand the importance of having a plan both on and off the field of play.
“I want to coach so that I can be able to put myself in a position to let other players know that the game can be taken away from them at any second,” Hart said. “I want to help other people be ready for that possibility.”
