Glasscock County football coach Jeff Jones reserves some of his highest praise for senior star Cesar Chavez.
“I’ve been a coach for 20 years and I can say he has what it takes to be one of us,” Jones told Empower Texans. “I see it in him in the way he is absolutely a people person, gets along with everyone and has all the intangibles.”
For now, Jones will take more of what he’s getting from Chavez in leading Glasscock to a perfect 6-0 start and the No.2 state ranking in six-man competition.
In a recent battle against Strawn, the 5-foot-9, 155-pound two-way star registered 25 tackles from his defensive end spot, all while also starring in the team’s backfield. Overall, Chavez leads Glasscock with 70 tackles.
“He’s a great leader on both sides of the ball, all heart,” Jones said of the two-time 6-1A Defensive MVP. “His football IQ is off the charts and he just has a knack for the game.”
So much so, Jones said he could see Chavez playing at the collegiate level in the right situation.
“I think he could play defensive back at a smaller school,” Jones said. “He has that kind of natural ability and is one of those guys that sees things on the field before they happen. You can’t coach or teach stuff like that.”
Jones said he and Chavez haven’t talked much about what comes after Glasscock, partly because they’re so focused on making their last run together as memorable as they can.
“Our approach is to take one game at a time, but we’ve been knocked out in the quarters by the eventual state champ the last three years,” Jones said. “We’re keeping focused and definitely looking to get that monkey off our back this time around.”