Former Trojan football players find new way to keep playing

Ask Morgan head football coach Jared Barlow how many guys have been sent to college football programs and it takes him a minute to remember them. 

Naturally, Coach Barlow will forget a few. 

“I apologize, last week I left off a couple of kids,” he said. “Zak Sargent and Nick Despain are both playing for the St. George Eagles as well.” 

In this case, these two players—in addition to Tyler Buckway who played there last year—can consider themselves college football players despite having been missed somehow by one of the Big 6 in-state schools or the lone junior college [JUCO]. 

Junior college football is dying. Over the past seven years, 12 fewer NJCAA programs are in existence, seven in Arizona. 

However post-prep teams like the Ogden Jets and St. George Eagles are beginning to fill that void left when more JUCO programs stop offering football. 

Founded by former Weber State coach Dave Arslanian, the Jets, and Eagles provide higher education benefits for former Morgan High players and others while feeding that competitive edge after the lights shut off for the last time at the old high school stadium. 

As part of a still-burgeoning partnership with USA Collegiate that began in 2023, the Jets and Eagles have only played one season of football thus far. 

Invaluable scrimmages for Ogden at Snow, Air Force Prep, and Pacific Northwest Christian [Wash.] and two home contests against Community Christian College of California—in addition to a home-and-home against the Eagles gave the Jets, who play at Ben Lomond High, eight games. St. George played 10 in total, adding trips to New Mexico Military Institute and SUU [vs. the JV team]. 

Even more is expected in the fall of 2024 when the Jets that went 2-6 and 5-5 Eagles will begin playing their second season as post-prep, gap-year programs that through a partnership with USA Collegiate allow “comprehensive, individualized higher education packages.” For both teams, student-athletes can choose from three options: SUU [via Playbook]; USA-C Online, or Coral Sands. 

What’s more, is that student-athletes can play with either the Jets or Eagles and study for up to one year without sacrificing any of their eligibility as they’re transferring to a different school. 

Jets players can stay for as many as three years, using part of their eligibility as they work toward an associate degree at Ogden-Weber Technical College—or SUU in the Eagles’ case.  

“I have seen firsthand the importance of Junior College Football. My High School Coach Jon Huss attended a Prep/Junior College for 1 year and then was able to attend Stanford University on a football scholarship,” said Ogden Jets head coach Jamie Martin, who played 14 years in the NFL. 

“My Weber State Coaches – Mike Price and Dave Arslanian – played Junior College Football. The Weber State football program was built with junior college players, with many of them going on to play in the NFL.” λ