WXXV Student Athlete of the Week: Picayune’s Jamonta Waller

When you think about Picayune football,  your first thought is probably the power run,  but when you think again, the Maroon Tide couldn’t have won back to back state championship titles without a dominant defense. On that side of the ball, it all starts in the trenches, with one of the best recruits to ever come out of the Magnolia state. Jamonta Waller is this week’s WXXV Student-Athlete of the Week.

Love at first sight may seem a little cliche at times, but that’s exactly how Picayune’s Jamonta Waller felt when he saw the gridiron for the very first time at the peewee level.

Growing up between the hash marks, Waller says he was different when the whistle blew, and he never stopped trying to perfect his craft. Recently, he watched film from just two years ago, and barely even recognized the player he saw. The Maroon Tide senior says his work ethic is what transformed him into the beast he is today.

“My work ethic,” Waller answers. “ I mean, you can be talented and all, but if you just give effort it’s going to pop out on film, and that’s one thing I’m good at doing, so that is what really got me into the position I’m in, and I don’t know I just really worked hard.”

Despite all the success, Waller never forgot where he came from.

“Where I come from, like I’m not spoon fed, so I know if I don’t do it then it’s not going to happen for my family, so that sticks with me everyday when I come out here like I know I have to go hard for my family,” said Waller.

So hard, that Waller is the first five-star recruit from the southern six counties in 15 years, and maybe one of these days it’ll all sink in.

“I mean it’s crazy man,” Waller said. “ I never thought it could be me, and when someone says it just to me I still don’t believe it, but I need to start believing it because like I said, all the hard work like I said and effort and you know it pops out on film and you know they’ll find you, and I know I can’t stop saying it but I’m blessed.”

When coaches did come across his film, they knew they had to have Waller on their team, which is a feeling one of his former teammates knows quite well, class of 2023 4-star Oregon signee and US army bowl All-American Dante Dowdell.

“Well my teammate, Dante Dowdell, I’ve seen him do it and the process that he went through. It gets kind of crazy, but fun at the same time,” Waller said. “I guess you could say he’d always tell me to keep working and when he’d go workout I’d workout with him. Just seeing him doing it and knowing if he can do it I can do it, and then when I got my first one, it’s like Mississippi State saying “I wonder why Ole Miss offered Jamonta. Let me go look at his film,” and then it just went like that and they all just started coming.”

Opportunities rolled in like the Tide, with Waller having now received 23 Division I offers. Following his banner high school career, his future lies with the University of Florida.

“Florida is just a beautiful place,” Waller said.  “The coaches, Coach Armstrong, he recruited me at two other schools. He recruited me at Southern Miss and at Alabama, so it shows the loyalty there, and just how they use their defense. Their defense is very versatile, and I feel like I can do a lot on the field, so that’s what really separated Florida from a lot of schools.”

But Waller isn’t suiting up for the blue and orange just yet, and it’s not gonna be easy for him to leave the maroon and white. He says Picayune is like family, and his teammates are like brothers.

 “The guys man… we’ve been playing with each other since the seventh grade, so that’s like six years man. They’ve never hated on my success, they’re always smiling for me, and it’s like if there’s anything I can do to help them I’m doing it. Like I’m posting on twitter and I’m doing everything because those are my guys man. They’re literally my brothers,” Waller said with a smile.

If the senior brothers of Picayune ended their season right this instant, they’d be leaving as back-to-back state champs, but Waller and the Maroon Tide still have their eyes on that three-peat.

 “Being a leader and telling the guys, “Let’s go to work everyday!” We’re back to back for a reason and everybody wants to beat us so like if we don’t come out here with high energy and be ready to play, then we could be beat,” Waller said. “You’ve just got to come ready to work and be ready for anything because you’re going to get your best when you’re playing against anybody and you’re Picayune.”

And they’ll continue to give their best as they face George County on Friday.