On the first day eligible to sign new recruits from the high school ranks, the University of Virginia’s football braintrust reached out and grabbed themselves a talented defensive back/wide receiver from Burnaby.
Former St. Thomas More Knights’ star Terrell Jana is heading to Charlottesville, Va. and a shot at playing NCAA Div. 1 football. He was one of two Burnaby natives who turned a two-year stint at a Virginia-based prep school into a college scholarship.
Committing to the University of Carleton in Ottawa was centre-lineman Darius MacKay.
For Jana, it’s a dream-come-true.
“The staff really won me over at (the University of Virginia),” Jana wrote in a message. “Almost every college I visited had new facilities being put up or new equipment so that stuff didn’t really have an impact on me. I didn’t see a staff as united as the coaches at UVA.”
At 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, Jana was scouted for his standout athleticism which he put on display the past year as a senior at Woodberry Forest, a prep school in Virginia, where he was one of the team captains.
Last year Jana registered 64 catches for 1,308 yards and 19 touchdowns at wide receiver. His 1,545 all-purpose yards – 3,200 over two seasons – led the program. The 18-year-old also racked up 11 tackles, deflected 10 pass attempts and posted five interceptions.
In his final season with the St. Thomas More Knights in 2014, the then-Grade 11 quarterback established a new school mark for the longest touchdown from scrimmage – a 97-yard dash in a game where he
accumulate 419 all-purpose yards. In the win over W.J. Mouat, Jana threw for two touchdowns and 160 yards, while scampering for 259 yards on the ground.
He also piloted the Knights junior varsity squad to back-to-back provincial final appearances, winning it all in 2013.
For MacKay, the University of Carleton is the perfect fit. Among others who had forwarded offers to the 18-year-old were Ottawa University and his hometown Simon Fraser University.
The 6-foot-4, 285-pound centre-lineman had spent the past two years at Woodberry, after getting a good foundation in football experience at St. Thomas More in Burnaby and Terry Fox Secondary in PoCo.
“Grateful to say that I have committed to Carleton University. Thanks to everyone who supported me through the process,” MacKay posted on his Twitter account.
