From Liberty
High School
to Super Bowl
Champion
Jay Ajayi looks downfield for an
opening as he runs the ball during the
Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the New
England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
When Jay Ajayi visited the Liberty
High School campus this spring, he was
amazed at how the neighborhoods around
his alma mater had changed. But as he
strolled through the campus to get to
the soccer field, where his sister Sarah
was playing a match that evening for the
Redhawks, he still felt at home.
“Frisco is a growing area, and it’s re-
ally cool to see everything that’s going
on,” Ajayi said. “It’s crazy to think it was
seven years ago when I graduated. Time
really does fly.”
It has been quite a seven-year flight for
Ajayi, who in February became a Super
Bowl champion with the Philadelphia
Eagles. The running back, who graduat-
ed from Liberty in 2011, starred at Boise
State and played his first two NFL seasons
with the Miami Dolphins. He was traded
to the Eagles midway through his third
season and helped the franchise win its
first Super Bowl.
Ajayi was surprised by the trade, espe-
cially after he was a Pro Bowl selection in
his second season, but he saw the trade
as an opportunity.
“I just embraced it,” he said. “I was
grateful to be part of a new team and
Jay Ajayi says his journey to the NFL
began after coaches, teammates helped
him fall in love with football.
a new brotherhood, and after they em-
braced me, then it was just about doing
whatever I could to help the team win.”
At Liberty, Ajayi led the Redhawks to a
12-1 record his senior year and became
one of the top running backs in the Dallas
area despite not playing football until he
got to middle school. Soccer was the
first love for the London-born Ajayi, who
moved to the United States when he was
7 years old.
He tried football at Clark Middle
School, and although it took some time
to learn the game, his speed and agility
helped him stand out.
“My middle school coaches at Clark,
the guys who kind of started up with me,
that’s when it all started,” Ajayi said. “I was
playing with my friends, and that’s when
I started falling in love with the game.”
Liberty defensive coordinator Brandon
Gonzales, who coached Ajayi at Clark
Middle School and then at Liberty, said
Ajayi was a “big team-first guy” who loved
to see his teammates succeed. Ajayi, now
24 years old, still enjoys the team nature
of football as he plays the sport at the
highest level.
His football goal now is to keep moving
forward and avoid being satisfied.
“Already being a Super Bowl champi-
on and a Pro Bowl player, that’s a special
thing, but I’m not done yet,” Ajayi said. “I’m
excited to push myself and see what else
I can do in this league. It’s really important
to me to have a lasting legacy.”
He wants that legacy to extend off
the field, as well, and he wants to make
an impact in Frisco. He plans to be in
Frisco this summer for the launch of the
Jay Ajayi Foundation. He’s also planning
a free youth football camp at Memorial
Stadium in June.
“I’m going to bring some of my oth-
er guys from the League, and hopefully
we’ll have a good turnout,” Ajayi said. “It
should be a
really fun ex-
perience.” n
Ajayi’s
graduation
photo from the
Liberty High
School Class
of 2011.
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