Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A second member of the Chambers Academy offensive line has officially committed to continue his football career, as Jake Waldrop signed his official letter of intent on Wednesday to play at Faulkner University in the fall.

“When I went for a visit, it just felt like home really,” Waldrop said. “I liked all the coaches. It felt like I was here [at Chambers Academy] but I was there. All the coaches were really close with me, and they all had something to say. I think it’s going to be good for me.”

Waldrop started at right tackle during the Rebels 2019 season. At 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, Waldrop was a force for the Rebels, causing problems for defensive ends and outside linebackers for his entire six-year career at Chambers Academy.

“What he did for our school through his career was just fantastic,” Chambers Academy head coach Jason Allen said. “Just a model student-athlete, great in the classroom and great on the field. He’s just a really smark kid that always was very coachable. I think he’s got a chance on the next level to really have a great career. He’ll have a chance to play right away just based on his size and his football instincts. He’s just so smart.”

In his talks with the Faulkner coaching staff, Waldrop was told that he would be playing either tackle or guard on the Eagles’ offensive line.

In watching his tape and after talking with him and Allen, the Faulkner coaching staff knows Waldrop’s potential on the field. With his size and work ethic, the staff told him that he could see playing time and potentially be competing for a starting spot as a freshman.

“[They said] if I come to work and show what I can do on the field, that I would get playing time as a freshman and maybe even be starting,” Waldrop said. “It just depends how the summer goes.”

Waldrop could see himself playing guard at the next level because guards are more of a power blocking position.

Alongside his time on the Rebels football team, Waldrop played on the Rebels boys’ basketball team. In his high school career, he has played for four football state championships and two basketball. In 2018, he helped bring Chambers Academy win its first football championship.

“It just seemed like yesterday when he was just a young puppy, and he was getting rolled around by those older guys,” Allen said. “He’s always worked hard, and he’s one of the smartest kids that we’ve ever had. He just dominated the inside for us. He’s going to be irreplaceable, and he was just a joy to coach.”

Waldrop is the second member of the 2019 Chambers Academy football team that has signed with the Eagles, as center Gabe Brooks signed in February. The two will be roommates for their freshman year in Montgomery.

“It’s nice knowing that I’ll have two teammates going because I know someone is going to have my back,” Waldrop said. “We’ve been talking it [rooming together] for a while. We’ve been talking about rooming together since last year when we started looking at Faulkner.”

Outside linebacker Brodie Smoot will join the pair of linemen as he committed to play at Faulkner on Monday.

Waldrop will pursue a degree in business at Faulkner.