Remember the name Jeremiah O’Hara. Ware County football fans will repeat it often in the coming years. O’Hara is currently an eighth-grader at Waycross Middle School, where he is a three-sport standout. But as impressive as his athletic abilities may be, his academic skills have been on the rise lately as well. Last year he was honored as the teachers’ choice for being the Most Improved student in the seventh grade. “I make A’s and B’s and maybe one C,” he admits.
O’Hara plays football, baseball and basketball. He plays pitcher and outfield on the diamond while holding down the point guard and shooting guard positions in basketball. At the Hoops University Basketball Camp this summer, he was chosen as the outstanding male camper. But he says his favorite of them all is football. He rarely leaves the field during games, playing both ways for the Bulldogs as a free safety and as a dual-threat quarterback where he is always a danger to run or pass.
There was a time, however, when O’Hara gave more attention to athletics than schoolwork and A’s and B’s were harder to come by. It was in the seventh grade that he became more diligent in the classroom, which earned him the Most Improved award. “He had a much better understanding of the importance of education and put the same effort he had put into the fields and courts into the classroom,” said Waycross Middle School Principal David Hitt.
O’Hara started playing football as a six-year-old at the Ware County Recreation Department. His first big play was a 79-yard kickoff return that he recalls primarily because he received a block from a teammate that allowed him to scamper untouched down the sideline.
Coaches praise his work ethic as “unbelievable” and say that he has excellent character. O’Hara has become one of the team’s leaders through his actions. “He leads more by example than by word of mouth,” said Waycross Middle School coach Kevin Stevenson. “He doesn’t say a whole lot, but when the lights go up you want him on your team.”
O’Hara is one of the most physical players on the Bulldogs’ team, often making big hits from his free safety position. He is not afraid to lower his shoulder and run over an opposing player when he is carrying the ball at running back and most often he is the one delivering the punishment rather than the one receiving it.
Coach Stevenson rates him as the best he has had at Waycross Middle School and believes O’Hara is slightly ahead in his development than many he has coached. “O’Hara will make a push to start at quarterback after (Xavier) Hollman graduates and he will definitely play on defense,” Coach Stevenson said. “He has all the tools he needs to play at the next level.”
He goes even farther in his praise of O’Hara by comparing him to one of his other former players: NFL first-round draft pick and current Detroit Lions defensive back Darius Slay. Stevenson was an assistant coach at Brunswick when Slay was a freshman. At the time, Slay switched time between running back and defensive back.
“Darius had good field vision. He had a good jump on the ball at corner,” Coach Stevenson said. “I see some of the same characteristics with Jeremiah on how he cuts back across the field in practice and when he is at free safety he is downhill and closes on the ball well.”
In terms of development, O’Hara is similar to Slay at this point in his growth. Darius was a little taller, but Coach Stevenson says O’Hara has a better work ethic in practice and the weight room at this point.
Whether he plays offense or defense, it is certain that he will make an impact for the Gators in the coming years. If all goes well, O’Hara wants to one day wear the red and black of the University of Georgia Bulldogs and may even become a doctor. His ultimate sports dream would be to lead the Atlanta Falcons to a Super Bowl victory.
For now, Jeremiah O’Hara is a standout athlete and student who is introduced to school visitors as a “young man who is going places.” He is a role model in the classrooms and WMS athletic fields and courts. “He is one of the most courteous and respectful young men I know,” Hitt said. “He will be successful at whatever he puts to mind.”
Getting to Know Jeremiah O’Hara
Favorites:
Snack: Skittles
Food: Chicken
Pro Team: Atlanta Falcons
College Team: Georgia Bulldogs
Pro Player: Marshawn Lynch
TV show: BET
Movie star: Chris Tucker
School subject: Math
Who inspires you and why? My dad; he teaches me things I didn’t know and taught me how to play baseball and how to swing.
SE-RS-0914-Jeremiah O’Hara
Southeast -Rising Star – September 2014
Jeremiah O’Hara
Waycross Middle School
By Rob Asbell
