Jourdan Soares sprinted his way to a Central Coast Section championship in the 100-meter dash in 2011. He was third in 2012.
On the football field, that same speed allowed him to get behind would-be defenders and create clear paths to the goal line. He visited the end zone 15 times last season and was named the 2011-12 Tri-County Athletic League Most Valuable Player.
For a guy whose quickness catapulted him to one of the more memorable prep careers in Gilroy, Soares took his time with this one, that’s for sure.
College? Football? Track?
None of the above?
The change of pace allowed Soares to see the whole picture, and after a few months of pondering it became clear, and the 2012 Gilroy High School graduate made up his mind.
Earlier this month, Soares verbally committed to play football for San Jose State University, he said Tuesday, opting to grey shirt this season.
“They offered me the grey shirt option before track season and I wanted to wait and see if any offers would come after track,” Soares said. “I’ve been in contact with (wide receivers) coach (Terry) Malley. We talked a few weeks ago and then I talked to coach (Mike) MacIntyre and he explained to me how the scholarship will work.”
Soares will pay for a semester at Gavilan College – which will preserve his full eligibility – before enrolling as a Spartan in January, when his scholarship will kick in, he said.
“It feels good to get it done,” Soares said. “I can’t wait to get back to playing.”
For now, Soares will be an observer and, at the advice of Coach MacIntyre, plans to watch practice a couple times a week to get himself familiar with his future team.
In the meantime, Soares, who is 6-foot-1, 165 pounds, said his period away from the field will give his body a chance to completely heal for the first time in quite a while.
“My main goal is to gain as much weight as I can without losing any of my speed,” he said, adding that he wants to add about 20 pounds to his frame.
“I knew I wanted to play football, so I’m excited,” he said.
As a senior, Soares racked up more than 1,400 receiving yards, finishing the year ranked in the top-10 in the state. He led the Mustangs in that category as a junior as well, covering 661 yards. He was a three-time TCAL first-team selection.
Soares’ last prep appearance of the turf came in the 38th annual Silicon Valley Youth Classic Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star football game last month. He grabbed seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Along with the individual 100-dash title in 2011, Soares was part of a Gilroy High’s boys’ track and field squad that won the school’s first CCS team title. He anchored the 4×100 relay team (Julius Travis, Romeo Travis and David Guenther) to victory in a school-record time of 41.77 seconds, in the same meet.
