Almost every football coach that talks about their star players will say they are “hard working.”
In the case of J.Z. George senior Jeremy Rias, it may be the truest statement ever made about a high school player.
When Rias isn’t lifting weights or playing football, he’s helping his father pour concrete, a profession widely considered one of the most physically demanding in the deep South.
“I help my dad pour concrete in the summertime, and it’s a hot job,” Rias said. “You have to stay hydrated. You get up at 5:30 in the morning and don’t get done a lot of days until 7:30 at night. We do slabs, sidewalks, just about anything you want or need. It’s really tough work. It makes you want to play football.”
For Smith, Rias is the kind of player he enjoys coaching.
“He is a hard worker, and he is physical and that’s what you love about him,” Smith said. “Seven-on-seven doesn’t really do him justice. You get him in pads, he will go knock your chinstrap loose. He is just a really physical kid. When he’s not here, he’s pouring concrete. He is just a really hard worker in the weight room. He will come up here even when I’m not here. Sometimes he is up here when nobody else is here. He may be here pulling tires all by himself.”
Rias had 29 tackles for the Jaguars last season and will be the starting middle linebacker this season.
“I really like him on defense better because he is going to run to the ball and is going to hit you,” Smith said. “He’s just a very physical player. We play both ways, and he can catch the ball too. I usually have him a different jersey on the sideline in case we were to get up so I could get him away from guard. He plays H-back when we go out two tight end set. He’s a very versatile player.
On offense, Rias will play multiple positions but primarily on the offensive line.
“I play him at guard on offense because that’s where we need him at,” Smith said. "But if he plays college football, I don’t think that’s where he will play. He is really probably a tight end or an H-back. But he is a really good guard for us. He will come off the ball and pull and kick somebody out, and that’s what you want out of a lineman.”
Rias, who is 6-foot-2, has been getting some college attention with interest from Copiah-Lincoln, East Central, Holmes and Coahoma as well as Central Arkansas.
“There have been several colleges talking to him, but I don’t know if he has any offers yet,” Smith said. “He went to Co-Lin, and they invited him down for a visit. East Central talked to him. Central Arkansas showed a little interest in him.”
Jeremy’s older brother, Chris, was in a similar situation in his senior year at J.Z. George. He eventually signed with Co-Lin and then played last year at South Alabama.
“He had an older brother that played at Co-Lin and then South Alabama and that kind of motivated him a little bit,” Smith said. “One thing that is going to help him is that Co-Lin loved his brother. That’s going to give him an inside track at Co-Lin. They know how they are and how hard they work. They have a good momma that stays on them.”
Smith said Rias certainly has the frame to add weight.
“I think he will put on another 30-40 pounds when he gets to college,” Smith said. “He’s 210 and could be 240. He could be a tight end, linebacker or even a defensive end. I would use him somewhere because I know what kind of work he is going to put in once he gets there. He knows how to work.”
Smith said Rias has something that not a lot of kids have these days, and that’s a strong work ethic, which shows in the classroom as well.
“He has pretty good grades,” Smith said. “He shows up almost every day. He doesn’t get in trouble and he’s a ‘yes sir, no sir’ kind of kid. He tries to be a leader out there as well. He was about 230 when he came back from covid. He sat out his sophomore year and that kind of hurt him a little bit. It took him a little while to get back in the hang of things last year.”
Rias said he knows he needs to be more of a leader this season and has been working hard to improve his game this year.
“I know I need to be a better leader this year,” Rias siad. “I think I had a good season last year but it didn’t turn out like I wanted to. I thought I could have improved on a lot of things, like coming off the ball low and staying disciplined. I have been doing a lot of drills, working with the coach to try and get better. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and keep on pushing.”
