Page 107 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2020

story by Rachel Hoyt
photo courtesy of Jaden Walley
You could say Jaden Walley, 18, a senior at D’Iberville High School, is good at football. In his years playing football at D’Iberville, he was the team captain and named MVP for the last two years and awarded the Joe & Mitch Salloum Award – given to Harrison County’s best all-around player – in 2019. However, Walley caught the attention of more than his coaches and teammates, as he received o ers to play college football at 14 Division I schools, including ve SEC schools.
“I received my rst o er the spring semester of my sophomore year to Alcorn State University. Early in
my junior year of high school, I was o ered my rst SEC scholarship to Mississippi State University, where I decided I would continue my career,” Walley said.
Walley doesn’t limit his abilities to football, though. He also excels on his school’s baseball and bass shing teams. In baseball, he maintained a .451 batting average and was awarded Rookie of the Year and O ensive Player of the Year. Then, he placed second in the state bass shing tournament and attended nationals at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama, with his partner, Tommy Loper.
Even with such a full schedule, Walley loves to give back to his community by mentoring students at D’Iberville Middle School.
“My main goal is to try to give the kids a positive role model to look up to and have somebody to relate to. I love my community service destination because I can learn from all the kids with di erent backgrounds and try to help them understand what it takes to be a decent human being in this country,” Walley said.
While his future obviously includes playing football at MSU, Walley says, “I don’t plan on making it to the NFL, but it sure would be nice to.” He plans to major in civil engineering and go on after his undergraduate studies to earn a higher degree.
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net
April 2020 | 107
TERRIFIC
PRESENTED BY
JADEN WALLEY
TEEN