The football talent that’s been produced over the years at Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School has been well documented. Dax Hill. Robert Meachem. Kevin, Aaron and Tyler Lockett. The list goes on and on.
This year’s Hornet squad has a couple of highly sought-after upperclassmen in junior Gentry Williams and senior Keuan Parker.
So who will be the next BTW player that’s going to start commanding a lot of attention from college football recruiters?
That honor just might belong to sophomore running back Jaiden Carroll. Carroll has already been recognized by some recruiting services as one of Oklahoma’s top 10 players for the Class of 2023.
Carroll has made his presence known in less than a season and a half of varsity play. He burst on to the scene last year as a freshman, rushing for 857 yards, including 253 in a win over Ponca City.
Last week he had 117 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Bishop McGuinness. He also added a score in Booker T’s dramatic season-opening win over Del City.
“He has an aggressiveness, a power about him,” claimed head coach Jonathan Brown, who’s in his first season at the helm of the Hornets after spending the past seven seasons as an assistant. “I like the way he runs the ball. He just has a ferocious mindset that he will not be denied.”
When Williams recently went down with a season-ending knee injury, Carroll knew he needed to pick up the slack on the offensive side of the ball.
“Me and Gentry actually just had a talk about that,” said the 5-9, 180-pound tailback. “I think it’s time for me to step up. I know I’m just a sophomore, but I can get it done.”
“He’s one of the hardest workers on this team,” claimed Brown, who’s the first BTW alumnus to run its football program since 1980. “You never have to worry about him working out because he’s always lifting weights. He’s always trying to learn. He’s just a heck of a player.”
Carroll wears number 29 for the Hornets, which isn’t a common number for a running back.
Colleges are already starting to take notice of Carroll. He’s been hearing from Oklahoma State the most, and says he’d love to get an offer from the Georgia Bulldogs, his favorite team.
“I just have to make sure I’m getting it done in the summer and coming to practice every day and try to get better against our great defense,” said Carroll, who was recently clocked at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. “I’ve gotta keep coming every day and putting in the work. I’m looking to get better.”
“We’ve got a proud tradition of running backs that have gone D-I and done some real special things.” added Brown. “I wouldn’t expect anything less out of him. He’s going to continue to improve and understand what we’re trying to do offensively. His body is going to continue to grow too, so I expect a lot of big things out of him.”
Carroll and the Booker T. Washington Hornets face another tough test this week when they square off against the Choctaw Yellowjackets Friday night, September 25th. YurView will televise this Ford Game of the Week (Cox Channel 3 in Tulsa and Channel 93 in Oklahoma City) at 7 pm CT or watch the game online.
