2019 Limestone County Player of the Year: Jairrice Pryor

Published 4:30 am Saturday, December 28, 2019

Clements football coach Michael Parker has coached for a long time. But he said some players are just so special they could perform just as well without any coaching at all. Senior running back Jairrice Pryor is one of those people.

Pryor rushed for 1,755 yards and 28 touchdowns, an average of 159.5 yards and 2.5 touchdowns per game, in helping lead the Colts to a 6-5 record and a trip to the Class 3A playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Pryor’s outstanding year resulted in him being named to the Class 3A All-State first team and be named the Limestone County Player of the Year.

“He’s one of those athletes where you don’t really have to coach him,” Parker said. “He’s just a natural. He does what he does and he does it well. Every time we gave him the football, he would do something that made you say, ‘Wow.’”

Pryor lined up in several different formations for Clements, as the Colts started the year running the ball nearly every play before developing a passing game as the year went on.

Pryor could line up in the traditional I formation and take handoffs from the quarterback, but also catch balls out of the backfield. He also occasionally lined up in the quarterback position, where he could either run or throw, and threw a touchdown pass in a victory over Tanner.

“He’s one of those guys who wants the ball in his hands,” Parker said. “He knows he’s a playmaker and he knows what to do with it. If I needed something big to happen, I knew I could go to him. He’s such a weapon that it opened up other aspects of our game.”

Pryor had a good junior season, rushing for 1,100 yards and being named to the All-Limestone County second team, but worked hard in the offseason to raise his game to the next level.

“I tried to get faster and bigger in the offseason and work with my offensive line,” Pryor said. “They are more important to this team than anybody. To me, those yards go to them. I’m just running for them.”

Since becoming Clements’ head coach prior to the 2018 season, Parker has focused on improvement in the weight room. He said that helped Pryor more than anything else.

“The weight room created a mentality that he has taken on, and he now understands how good of an athlete he is and what God has blessed him with,” Parker said. “The guy squats 535 pounds. He’s been a quick-strike back, and he’s also a power back. He is very strong. He’s really a total running back. He’s got the speed and the strength.”

Parker said Pryor wasn’t what he would call a vocal leader, but he led by example and by being one of the more coachable and hard-working players on the team.

“He’s more of a show me type of leader,” Parker said. “He does things the right way. He’s always respectful and does what you ask him to do. He’s just a joy to coach.”

Parker said the last two years coaching Pryor were special. Pryor helped Clements reach the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in 10 years and rushed for nearly 3,000 yards.

“He made me look like I knew what I was doing for sure,” Parker said. “He worked hard for his success and we’re all going to miss him.”