CUMBERLAND — According to his coach Zack Alkire, Jaylan Atkinson improved every time he stepped into Fort Hill High School.
Undersized early in his career, the linebacker needed to sharpen every other part of his game to fight for playing time. By the time he grew into his body as a senior, Atkinson blossomed into one of the area’s premier defensive players on an undefeated state championship team.
The area’s head coaches rewarded his efforts, voting him the area Defensive Player of the Year following the season.
Atkinson will receive the award at the 75th Dick Sterne Memorial Dapper Dan Sports Banquet on Sunday, April 28, at 4 p.m. in the Ali Ghan Shrine Club Ballroom.
“Coming into the season, Jaylan had really long odds to be the Defensive Player of the Year,” Alkire said. “If you look at Jaylan’s career arc, he had long odds to play at Fort Hill. He worked for everything he got, whether it was in weight room, watching film, on the practice field, coming in to get better on his own.”
Atkinson received all but one vote for the award. Mountain Ridge defensive end Will Bannon, who was named Lineman of the Year on Friday, garnered the other.
The 6-foot, 190-pound linebacker ended with 91 tackles (32 solos) with a fumble recovery, an interception and two blocked kicks.
Atkinson is emblematic of the Fort Hill program player, someone who bides their time until their number is called, often during their senior campaigns with little fanfare or preseason expectations.
“You talk about a program, it’s not just your varsity kids, JV kids as well,” Alkire said. “A lot of times you lose kids because they don’t play a lot their freshman year.
“Jaylan is one of those kids you can point to and say, ‘Here’s a kid that wanted to play football and be special.’ Even though he didn’t get it instantly, he worked toward it and eventually did. He’s someone we’ll talk about for years to come.”
Atkinson came up big in Fort Hill’s signature victory of the season, making a season-high 14 stops in a thrilling come-from-behind 36-35 win over Ohio’s Wadsworth.
One week later against unbeaten New Oxford, he made an early interception and made a tackle on a run on 4th-and-1 from its own 29 that all but ensured the win.
Atkinson’s positioning and angles to the football allowed him to rarely miss a tackle.
“He had a nose for the ball,” Alkire said. “He was a kid that was able to find the football and take a good path to the ball. Because of his skillset from an earlier age, he had to do everything right. He had great fundamentals.
“Once his body matured and he earned that spot, his early fundamentals allowed him to be so successful.”
Because of those size limitations, Atkinson will likely end up at a Division III college. Albright, Juniata, Westminster and McDaniel colleges are in the mix.
If Atkinson wants to play college football, then rest assured, he’ll find a way to do it. His tireless pursuit to get on the gridiron in high school ended with him capturing the area Defensive Player of the Year award.
“He didn’t play a lot as a junior but because of his work ethic and resolve, he never gave up and kept pushing himself,” Alkire said. “He had great guys around him, and he persevered to get a starting spot.”