Christopher James remembers everything about how Jared Lockhart tore his ACL last year during September of his senior season at Myers Park High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"That was probably one of the toughest situations as a coach that I've been in," said James, Lockhart's coach at Myers Park. "I still remember the play. I remember the play call. I remember how he stepped. I remember how he got hit. I remember walking off with him."
For Lockhart, it was the second time he'd suffered a serious injury in high school, the first being when he broke his collarbone in his sophomore year at Porter Ridge High School.
A year later, Lockhart, a freshman quarterback at Jackson State , is experiencing a familiar situation with the Tigers, however from an unfamiliar perspective. This time, he's not the starter who went down, but rather the backup who has stepped up in the Tigers' last two games after JaCobian Morgan 's injury.
Jackson State (6-2, 4-1 SWAC) next plays at Mississippi Valley State (1-7, 0-4) on Nov. 8 (2 p.m. CT, SWAC TV). Lockhart will again be the starter for that game.
Described by his older brother Jaden as a quiet, yet funny kid, Jared Lockhart grew up in a track and field household. With a military veteran father and a former college track and field athlete turned coach as a mother, the Lockhart boys – Jaden, Jared and Jasen – were held to a high standard.
"They had us on a strict schedule with training," Jaden Lockhart said. "We would miss birthday parties to train, like it was that serious because they knew the end result was greater than what we wanted to do at that time."
The constant training led to heightened competitiveness among the family. Jaden says Jared, who's four years younger than him, would frequently challenge him, losing in some events and beating him in others.
"When we would practice, me and Jared would run against each other," Jaden said. "He would always try to beat me. He never would, but it was the thought that counts. … He'd always say, 'You're not going to beat me in shot put or javelin,' because Jared had an arm on him. … So, I take the back seat on that one."
All three boys won multiple national track and field Junior Olympic medals. Jaden played football at Catawba College and Johnson C. Smith and will take on official visit to Jackson State on Nov. 22.
Even though Jared has only played in three games this season, Jaden says he's traveled from Arkansas, where he currently goes to school, to watch almost every Jackson State game.
Lockhart was intentional about developing bonds with his football teammates. James said that on his first day at his new school, Lockhart asked the offensive line coach to point out all of the team's offensive linemen so that he could take them to dinner.
"When he said that, that was the first time that I knew outside of just watching him play what type of person, player that he was," James said.
After Morgan exited the game against Grambling State on Oct. 25 with an injury, Jaden Lockhart took a picture of Morgan standing with his brother on the sidelines and posted it to X.
"When I seen the picture, something came on to me," Jaden said. "… JaCobian is like a big brother to Jared, and I'm glad he took that role because I'm not there. So, to see somebody do that with him, really, it made me happy inside."
Jackson State coach T.C. Taylor said Morgan was present on the sidelines "being engaged" with Lockhart as he quarterbacked JSU to a win over Florida A&M on Nov. 1.
After Lockhart's first start against Tuskegee on Sept. 13, Morgan had nothing but positive things to say about the freshman.
"He did an amazing job, and it also means that Jackson State is in great hands," Morgan said. "He's very talented. He's like my little brother. He does everything right. I'm just trying to mold him and be the man that he needs to be. … He got a bright future for sure."
The rest of the team is also rallying behind the young quarterback, along with Jackson State's fans, who've poured in support on social media.
"I've never seen a fan base like that, and it's so much love," Jaden Lockhart said. "When I came to all the games … it was breathtaking. I was like, 'Wow, this is how a fan base is supposed to be.'"
Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@gannett.com and follow her on X @tiareid65 .
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State QB Jared Lockhart gets support from family, Tigers fans
