‘J-Money’ picks AU
- Updated: February 1, 2023
Anniston standout cites relationship with Auburn staff holdover Etheridge, wants to use next year to recruit others to Tigers
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
There was a time when Jayden “J-Money” Lewis needed talking into staying with Anniston High School.
Now, the junior defensive back/return man hopes to spend a year talking other players into following him to Auburn.
Lewis made the biggest splash at Anniston’s National Signing Day ceremony Wednesday, donning an Auburn cap and shirt and announcing intentions to play for Hugh Freeze’s Tigers.
His announcement put a next-year twist on otherwise this-year news. Three seniors signed: linebacker Rosco Malloy to East Mississippi Community College, defensive lineman Lindsey Smedley to Campbellsville College and defensive lineman Kevin Cole to Alabama State.
Lewis cited his relationship with Auburn assistant coach Zac Etheridge, who played for Auburn and stayed on with Auburn’s staff after Auburn hired Freeze to replace Bryan Harsin.
“Building the relationship with Coach Etheridge was real nice,” Lewis said. “Just every time I go there, I love the support and the community and really just, it fit me, the coaching staff.
“Me and the relationship me and Coach Etheridge built, my ninth- and 10th-grade year, really meant a lot to me. He emphasized it’s not all about football.”
Lewis was a first-team all-state and All-Calhoun County pick in 2022. He ran back the season’s opening kickoff for a touchdown at Wellborn and kept making plays for the Bulldogs, with 45 tackles, five interceptions and two punt-return touchdowns.
He helped Anniston make a run to the Class 4A quarterfinals, where the Bulldogs fell to eventual state champion Andalusia 35-28.
Lewis played quarterback on the lower levels.
“He thought he was going to be the next Lamar Jackson, growing up,” said Bradley Ball, Anniston’s defensive coordinator and associate head coach. “We were like, ‘J-Money, you might not make it at quarterback,’ so he made the transition to DB, but his first touch at quarterback was like a 70-yard touchdown (against Ashville), as an eighth-grader on varsity.”
Lewis weighed several major-college offers. He counted Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee and South Carolina as his finalists before deciding to join former Oxford standouts Bradyn Joiner and Camden Etheredge and former Anniston/Saks standout Tony Hunley at Auburn.
Lewis said Auburn was always high on his list, but the coaching change upped the timing of his commitment.
“The coaching change is what made me go ahead and was like, yeah,” he said. “The love and support was what really fit me.”
Lewis said college coaches have lauded his versatility. He could play safety, corner and nickel on defense and return kicks.
The irony of making his big announcement at Anniston was how close he came to possibly having this day elsewhere. He was planning to move as an eighth-grader, with an eye toward bigger schools in Birmingham.
Ball came in as part of now-former Anniston coach Rico White’s staff, and they immediately moved Lewis up to varsity.
“They changed the narrative,and they showed me more than just football,” he said. “They really showed me a lot, and that’s what made me stay here.”
Ball said keeping Lewis at Anniston was part of a larger effort to keep players from moving on, after Anniston fired former head coach Eddie Bullock.
“When Coach White and myself got here, it was a feeding frenzy,” Ball said. “All of the surrounding schools were plucking kids from here, based off whatever was going on here.
“I know when I first got here, that was my goal. We were going to put a fence around Anniston, and no more kids were going to leave.”
Ball on Malloy
“He was a two-year starter for us,” Ball said. “He was an impact player from day one, and he’s very much a team player. This past year, we had a linebacker get hurt, and we moved him to linebacker, and it almost looked like a natural position for him.”
Ball on Cole
“He’s been a two-year starter for us, too, but he’s another impact player on the defensive front. Great kid.”
Ball on Smedley
“He’s a kid to where, in this day in time in football, everything is measurables, measurables, height and weight, but he don’t let that define him. He’s just a heck of a football player.”
Cover photo: Anniston High’s Jayden Lewis commits to Auburn during Anniston’s National Signing Day ceremony in the school’s auditorium on Wednesday.
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