By Kyle Roberts
Ruston High legend Dr. Pat Garrett has the most succinct, yet poetic definition of the word “maturity.”
Challenging the minds of his English students for decades at Louisiana Tech, the now-Professor Emeritus made the word simple:
“It is the foregoing of a current pleasure for a future one.”
And Ruston High School senior cornerback Semaj Jones summed that up perfectly on the final defensive stop during the second round of the 2023 playoffs.
Down 20-18 in the final seconds, highly-touted Westgate Tiger quarterback Jaboree Antoine scrambled out of the pocket to his left and fired the football down the far sideline, desperately hoping the pass would find one of his talented wideouts. Instead, it was Semaj who grabbed his fourth pick of the year, and seeing nothing but green in front of him, he had a split-second to make a decision.
Go for defensive back glory and return the pick-six? Or fall on the football and ensure the win?
Semaj’s instinctual maturity saw him wisely fall to the ground to secure the victory, foregoing the pleasure of a glorious return touchdown for a guaranteed future into the quarterfinals.
Maturity in real time.
“It was much more important for us to get the win,” Semaj said about sealing the deal against the Tigers. “I fell on it because I knew the time and the quarter.”
Of course, Semaj has already felt that glory this year, highlighted by his returning an interception in week two 100 yards coast-to-coast to seal the deal over Jesuit, capping off 28 unanswered points in the second half for a 35-7 Bearcat routing of the Blue Jays.
Throughout the season, quarterbacks and receivers have tested him in the secondary, only to be found wanting as Semaj’s physicality and eye for the football have served the Bearcats well in his senior campaign, even if his 5 foot, 9 inch height “appears” to be a disadvantage against the taller wideouts.
“When there’s a receiver that’s bigger than me, I know I have to be more physical than he will be,” Semaj said. “With my physicality, I’m going to take it on him and just be physical with him.”
Coached in the secondary by Bearcat alum and former NFL cornerback Kenny Wright, he’s seen as a young man who is a hard worker and fun to be around for his coaches and teammates.
“Semaj is a very fun, out-going kid,” Wright said. “He brings a lot of good character; humorous character. And on the football field? It’s his tenacity. He always plays through the full play and has great ball-hawking skills.”
Wright knew early on when he came to coach at Ruston that Semaj would be great for the Bearcats; his skill set just needed a little polish around the edges to become a cornerback that could both cover and be physical. And nobody is better suited than a position coach who spent a decade in the NFL.
“When I saw him, I just wanted to clean up his technique,” Wright said. “He had some technical things going on where, like so many guys, they just haven’t been taught the right way of playing cornerback. I’m teaching him the right way with body position, technique, and eyes. Once he got a hold of that, he really took off.”
Following a state championship appearance last year, the Bearcats’ defense was given a spark during spring football when now-junior Aidan Anding stepped over from basketball to play corner. And even though the talk of the town was Anding’s ability and frame, Semaj felt nothing but excitement to have Anding start on the other side of the hash marks.
“I was like, yeah, I got a person I can trust on the other side,” Semaj said. “We’ve been close for a long time in football and AAU basketball. We have this bond that we can click and make things happen.”
Ruston High head coach Jerrod Baugh said he was impressed with the way Semaj handled both the offseason and with Anding joining the team. In fact, Anding’s presence forced opposing offenses to throw into Semaj’s territory– decisions that they have come to regret over this season.
“I think that raised the level of his game,” Baugh said. “He made some plays throughout the year, and I think he probably took it personally that people throw his direction before they throw to Aidan, and Semaj has made them pay for it.”
Making them pay looks like four interceptions and plenty of tackles and passes broken up throughout another special year for Ruston football.
And now, with the chance to play at home in the semifinals again, it’s all smiles for Semaj in his senior year as he talks about being on this team. His work is paying off, and the Ruston Bearcats are better for it.
“It means so much for me to be on this football team,” Semaj concluded. “My teammates– I love them to death. This team right here? We have a good bond. I feel like we’re going to be good, and we have the chance to take it all the way.”
