Jamie Jensen isn’t sure what more he could have done in two
seasons to prove he deserves a scholarship offer from one of the
nation’s college football factories.
A 19-5 record as a starter, 7,533 yards passing and 70
touchdowns in two seasons make him undeniably the most accomplished
quarterback in the history of Gilroy High football. Even NFL
quarterback and Gilroy native Jeff Garcia didn’t have near the same
success as Jensen while a Mustang.
But gaudy stats and an excellent winning percentage haven’t
landed the 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior a serious offer, made more
difficult to stomach after National Signing Day took place on
Wednesday.
GILROY – Jamie Jensen isn’t sure what more he could have done in two seasons to prove he deserves a scholarship offer from one of the nation’s college football factories.
A 19-5 record as a starter, 7,533 yards passing and 70 touchdowns in two seasons make him undeniably the most accomplished quarterback in the history of Gilroy High football. Even NFL quarterback and Gilroy native Jeff Garcia didn’t have near the same success as Jensen while a Mustang.
But gaudy stats and an excellent winning percentage haven’t landed the 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior a serious offer, made more difficult to stomach after National Signing Day took place on Wednesday.
“It’s confusing,” Jensen said. “There’s been ups and downs, and I’m just trying to ride it out still.”
How he doesn’t have a full ride, or at least an offer from a Football Bowl Subdivision school – otherwise known as Division I – has his former coach at a loss for words.
“This is two years in a row I thought we had Division I football players and other people didn’t agree,” GHS coach Rich Hammond said, referring to Jensen and former GHS running back Travis Reyes, who grey-shirted at Foothill College this past season due to injury.
“It’s kind of a fickle deal. Sometimes [potential] overshadows production.”
Jensen said he plans to make a decision by the middle of March, with several local junior colleges being a possibility if he doesn’t receive an offer he likes.
“It’s definitely a possibility,” he said. “I feel like I could definitely go to a D-I college and compete. It just kind of sucks, not getting that chance that other guys get.”
The signal-caller said he would prefer to stay close to the West Coast.
Taking the route that Garcia did on his way to the NFL – grey-shirting a year at Gavilan, playing one year of junior college and then transferring to a four-year school – could be the best way for Jensen to maximize his time on the field and grow as a player. Some colleges have been unsure how Jensen will translate to the next level due to the hurry-up, spread offense he ran at GHS. Spending time on the field at a JC rather than holding a clipboard for several seasons at a D-I program could be a much better option in his development.
“It’d be nice to show colleges that I can do both, play under center and in shotgun,” Jensen said.
Currently taking a break from football full-time to play basketball for GHS, Jensen hasn’t shut himself off completely from the game he knows best. Along with daily workouts, Jensen still spends time with his private quarterback coach Peter Goodson. Goodson has said before that Jensen is without a doubt a D-I caliber quarterback.
If the big-time schools don’t come calling, however, Hammond believes the junior college route could be the best.
“If you don’t go the JC route, you got one opportunity (to make the right decision),” Hammond said. “If you go the JC route, then you’re going to come out and have four or five opportunities (to sign elsewhere).”
