Junior transfer adjusts to new environment
Junior quarterback Qadir Ismail winds up to throw to an open receiver against Calvert Hall on Sep. 9. Ismail transferred from Patterson Mill High School to JC this year.
Fourth and goal. Ball on the three yard line. Down by four. The team needs a touchdown. There’s just enough time on the clock to run one last play. Junior transfer and quarterback Qadir Ismail puts a receiver in motion, takes the snap, and reads the defender off the edge. He fakes the handoff and takes off outside. Diving for the pylon, he scores.
Ismail transferred this year from Patterson Mill High School and has already seen differences between JC and his previous school, both academically and athletically. “The athletics are so much better. The guys actually want to work hard,” Ismail said. “They are serious about their sports, and the teachers are so helpful. They actually care about you.”
In the summer, Ismail prepped for the upcoming season by attending multiple football camps located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. He also lives a healthy lifestyle, which consists of working out almost every day and eating healthy foods. “I literally only eat organic stuff,” Ismail said.
Ismail waits under center for the snap against Calvert Hall on Sept. 9. In addition to football, Ismail also plays basketball and runs track.
Ismail is an all-around athlete. Standing at 6-foot-7-inches, he also plays basketball and runs track, but football is where he excels. “He can throw the deep ball. He’s very good on his feet. We have the vertical threat, and he’s very good for that,” assistant football coach Bill Lewis said.
According to Ismail, he has already built a good relationship with his team. His favorite part of preseason was Tall Timbers, the camp in West Virginia that the football team attends every year where they practice and spend time together as teammates. Ismail is also excited about having teammates who play well around him. “I can trust them to do their job and not have any doubt,” Ismail said.
Even though he’s the new kid, Ismail has already stepped up into a leadership role. “He leads by example more so than [by] talk,” Lewis said. “He wants to get better every day.”
Junior running back Dorian Woody agrees. “He’s a good on-the-field leader, a good competitor, and he works very hard,” Woody said.
Despite the loss of many valuable seniors, the team seems to be moving in a good direction. “I’m learning from [Ismail] along the way as he is learning from me,” Lewis said.
Daniel Robinson is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com