Former HS teammates AJ Brown, Willie Gay to meet in SB LVII
STARKVILLE, Miss. (BVM) – Super Bowl LVII will be a difficult watch for Ricky Woods. The retired high school football coach has coached many players during his three-decade-long career and has even seen a handful go to the NFL, but this is the first time he will see one on the league’s biggest stage.
This is an exciting time for Woods, but not as exciting as it could be. That’s because the former Starkville headman won’t be able to support just one team on Super Bowl Sunday as two of his former players face off for a chance at the Lombardi. Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown and Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. were both Yellowjackets under the tutelage of Coach Woods in both 2015 and 2016.
“I’ve had guys who all started in the NFL and retired there,” Woods said. “This is the first two I’ve ever had and they made it at the same time. I’m really excited about the game. I wish they could tie.”
Gonna be a Yellow Jacket Super!! 🏈🏆🏈🐝
Proud of our guys on an epic #JacketNextLevel!! #SuperBowlLVII pic.twitter.com/GZHYzBlizN— Jacket Athletics (@STKJackets) January 30, 2023
The two are more than aware of the situation at play as well. Brown tweeted out his feelings about the situation, understanding that the city of Starkville will be more than happy with the outcome regardless of who comes out on top.
Grew up 5 minutes away from each other.
Won a state championship in high school together.
Playing for the Super Bowl .
The city is beyond proud 🤍 @WillieG___ https://t.co/XoTdnbJo7i— AJ BROWN (@1kalwaysopen_) January 30, 2023
Gay also shared the sentiment, understanding that it was time for the two to show out for Starkville.
https://twitter.com/WillieG___/status/1620122285507231751
For Woods, Super Bowl Sunday will mark a time when he gets to see two of his favorite former players go against each other for football’s ultimate prize.
“You looked at AJ and Willie and you knew you had really, really good players, they were the top two players by far,” Woods said. “You knew you had something special. What was really special was they were both really good people. Both were very intelligent, some of the hardest workers on the team.”
Back in high school, the two also went against each other, but with much fewer eyes on them.
“They went against each other for a while because AJ was on offense and Willie was on defense so they got to play each other in practice several times,” Woods said. “It’s on a little bit of a bigger stage right now playing against each other.”
Brown and Gay were crucial keys for Woods’ Yellowjackets squad when he first got to the school in 2015. That year, Brown was a star senior wideout who had just come off of a 1,000-yard, 16-touchdown performance the year before while Gay was a hard-hitting junior linebacker who recorded 33 tackles, four tackles for loss and two interceptions, both of which he returned for touchdowns.
“We were a lot better on defense than we were on offense,” Woods said. “We had a hard time moving the ball on them actually, so if AJ made a big play that would be when we moved the ball on [Willie]. They were always competitors but they did it the right way.”
While the two were already clearly the top players on each side of the ball, neither of them acted like it. According to Woods, both boys were the diligent and hardworking players one would expect out of NFL standouts.
“They were always into the team concept,” Woods said. “They put the team first. Other kids fed off of that and they were really team players. I would probably still be coaching if I coached guys like that, great players with great attitudes.”
This combination of Brown and Gay paid dividends for Starkville that first season. The team went 14-1 that season, winning 14 straight games after a season-opening loss, on their way to a state title. That title marked the first Class 6A title for the program and much of it was due to their superstars.
“They were both really good players and integral parts of winning that championship,” Woods said. “Anytime you win a state title it’s special. … It was a source of a whole community to get together for one goal and something for the whole town to be a part of.”
Brown led the offense with another stellar season, recording 83 catches for 1,371 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns. This earned him a four-star ranking where he was rated as the No. 36 recruit in the nation, later committing to Ole Miss.
Gay also had a standout season recording 84 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, six sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles and an interception returned for a touchdown. As a member of the Class of 2017, Gay was ranked as the No. 70 player in the nation as a four-star linebacker. He committed to Mississippi State.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t74hwcSPumg
The two went on to have strong careers for their respective colleges. Brown was selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. The next year, Gay was taken by the Chiefs in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
“When you get guys drafted at that level it’s really prestigious and you have a sense of pride to just know them,” Woods said. “As a community, as coaches, as former coaches and teammates, all the guys that played with those guys, they feel like they share in some of the success too because they know them and were a part of the team.”
Now, the two Mississippi natives will be on the same field once again, this time under the bright lights of the Super Bowl and they will have the eyes of the nation, and their hometown, on them.
“They’re sort of heroes of the town,” Woods said. “They come back and it’s important, but these guys are positive role models for all these high school students and elementary students. People in the town take pride in it because of their behavior, they are humble people, they’re just regular people. The people of Starkville are going to be talking about how we had these two guys starting in the Super Bowl because that just doesn’t happen every day,”
For Woods, he isn’t choosing a side, preferring to stay neutral. If the two players were to clash on the field, Woods thinks the outcome would be pretty even.
“It’s going to be hard for Willie to tackle AJ, but maybe he can slow him down enough to have someone help him,” Woods said with a laugh.
