ROCKINGHAM – Jake Ransom, a senior on the Richmond Senior High School football team, has been named the sixth Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week for the 2018 fall sports season.
In what has been a magical season so far that has followed the uncanny “eight year” trend of the last four decades, the Raider football team is off to an impressive 8-1 start. Richmond is on a current seven-game winning streak, and hasn’t lost since facing No. 1 ranked Wake Forest High School during the second week of the season. As Ransom, who is a three-year starter, and the Raiders prepare to face rival Scotland High School Saturday, a win would secure head coach Bryan Till’s team’s first conference championship since 2010. This is Ransom’s first career selection.
Athletic Profile
Age: 17
Birthday: Dec. 15, 2000
Year: Senior
Fall Sport: Football
Position: Center
Years on Varsity: 3.5 Years
Height & Weight: 6-3, 265-pounds
Experience: 6 years
“ON THE LINE” WITH JAKE RANSOM
RSHS Academics: On Friday nights, Ransom can be found battling in the trenches for the Raiders, but the senior also puts forth a great effort in the classroom. A quarter of the way through his final year at RSHS, Ransom is enrolled in the College Preparatory cluster, and is taking several tough courses this fall.
At the high school, Ransom has English IV Honors with Ms. Tiffany Covington, Senate with Colonel John Ring, and can be found getting stronger with his football teammates during fourth block weight training. During his first block, Ransom attends Richmond Community College, where he’s taking Math 171. His favorite class this semester is English IV Honors, citing recently reading William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” as a “good story.” He also enjoys the class because he’s been a longtime fan of writing.
Ransom has a 3.85 GPA and consistently earns grades high enough to land on the A/B Honor Roll. When asked what he enjoys most about being a student at Richmond, Ransom explained it’s “how much his teachers care” about him as a student-athlete. Because of his involvement in athletics, Ransom doesn’t have much time for extracurriculars, but this year he’s a general member of the Raider Senate.
RSHS Sports: A two-sport athlete his entire high school career, and with football serving as Ransom’s primary sport, he’s also been a member of the Raider baseball program since he was a freshman. He played on the junior varsity team as a ninth grader before getting bumped up to head coach Ricky Young’s varsity squad as a sophomore. He’s spent the past two springs acting as a first baseman and designated hitter for the Raiders, and anticipates finishing out his career in the same roles this spring.
College Aspirations: Ransom is one of several seniors on the football team this fall who is being recruited to play collegiate ball. Currently, he’s received interest from a plethora of schools, including Elon University (Elon, N.C.), Furman University (Greenville, S.C.), Mars Hill College (Mars Hill, N.C.), UNC-Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.) and UNC-Pembroke (Pembroke, N.C.).
He’s also received a preferred walk-on offer from Appalachian State University (Boone, N.C.), which carries no scholarship money. Earlier this week, Ransom received his first official scholarship offer from Catawba College (Salisbury, N.C.) While there’s a smorgasbord of options in front of him, Ransom explained that Elon and UNC-Charlotte are his top two choices at this point in time, noting he “likes the schools and the football programs are good.”
“The recruiting process is a lot like dating,” Ransom laughed. “It’s challenging, and can be frustrating, but in a good way. One minute a school can love you, and the next the could be done with you.”
In terms of what he’d like to study in the classroom, Ransom is looking to major in exercise science and pursue a career as an athletic trainer or physical therapist.
Jake Ransom (75) prepares to snap the ball during Thursday’s game against Seventy-First.
Athlete of the Week Stats: As an offensive lineman, Ransom and his fellow linemates are often overlooked by the average spectator. Splash plays, big touchdowns and skill position players are what draw the crowd’s attention on Friday nights, but more often than not, those highlights aren’t possible without the thankless work of the guys battling in the trenches.
Using his 6-3, 265-pound frame, Ransom is literally in the center of every play, blocking defensive linemen, opening holes for the Raider running attack and moving downfield to spread out would-be tacklers. In last Friday’s game, a 49-14 Richmond win over Seventy-First High School, junior tailback Jaheim Covington rushed for season highs in rushing yards (158) and touchdowns (four). While Covington muscled his way to success, Ransom was a major part of allowing his teammate to cross the goal line.
The Richmond coaching staff grades each player following every game using a unique point system, and Till explained that Ransom has been on a tear the past couple of weeks. While offensive lineman don’t rack up stats like skill players, Ransom’s grades over the past couple of weeks have all been passing, which Till explained is hard to do against the level of competition seen in the Sandhills Athletic Conference.
“Jake has had a winning performance the last three games, which is anything over a 70 for offensive linemen,” Till explain as he scribbled numbers on his whiteboard. “That’s really hard to do consistently, and we only grade players who play 10 or more plays in a game — but Jake can see 40 or 50 plays from week to week.”
In the last three games, Ransom has earned scores of 86 (Hoke County High School), 80 (Lumberton High School) and 73 (Seventy-First High School). Till added that the tougher the competition, the tougher it is for Ransom to earn high scores.
“The offensive line is a whole group within ourselves,” Ransom explained. “We call ourselves HOGS, which stands for ‘Honor Our Great Strength.’ We do everything together, whether it’s watching film, eating before games or hanging out. We know how to trust each other, which lets us get stuff done during games.”
RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES
1) What’s been your favorite part of your senior season so far and playing for Coach Till?
“My favorite part of this season has been winning,” Ransom said. “That’s always fun to do. And I really like how Coach Till brings so much energy to the team and hypes us up.”
2) In one word, describe this year’s Raider football team. Why did you choose that word?
“Dedication,” Ransom noted. “We have to be dedicated all season long. We start in the summer during workouts and there were over 90 players who made the 100 percent club. And we’ve kept it up throughout the whole season. It was after the loss to Wake Forest when we stepped up and said we weren’t losing again.”
3) Who is someone who has impacted your life positively such as a mentor, teacher or coach?
“Both of my parents, Rob and Christy Ransom,” he said. “They never quit at anything and they show no fear — they always have what people call a poker face. And they’re so supportive of me.”
4) If you could play football or baseball at the collegiate level, which one would you play and why?
“That’s a tough question, but probably baseball because I’ve done it my whole life,” Ransom shared. “If I could play both I would, which is a possibility at UNC-Charlotte.”
5) Name an interesting fact about yourself that many people may not know about you.
“Before every game, whether it’s football or baseball, I say a prayer for my friend William Rogers,” Ransom concluded. “He passed away in 2014 in a four wheeler accident — we grew up together and played on the same travel baseball team.”
Coach’s Corner: Till has only been Ransom’s coach the past two seasons, but he’s caught onto the senior’s likeable characteristics both on and off the football field.
“Jake has been a three year starter and he serves on our leadership council,” Till said. “He’s a great player on our o-line, and he’s obviously doing a great job on the field this season. He’s what you want as a leader, and has a great attitude.
“Any time you get the chance to honor an offensive lineman because of his successes, that’s huge because they sacrifice themselves so much physically for the team,” he ended. “Jake exemplifies that week in and week out.”
