Freshman Jay’Veon Sunday brings ‘great mindset’ to UW Huskies’ running back room
When freshman Jay’Veon Sunday left Waco, Texas for the University of Washington at the end of June, his high school football coach dropped him at the airport.
Connally High School head coach Shane Anderson posted a picture of the two of them on Twitter, writing that the last five years of knowing Sunday “were a blessing.” And before Sunday stepped into the security line, off to begin his career with the Huskies, Anderson had some final advice.
“I told him don’t come back to Waco until you get a degree and get an NFL contract,” Anderson said. “I told him (my wife and I) would come see him, but I don’t want him coming back down here and getting caught up in this deal.
“When you got a chance to make something of yourself, you get a lot of kin folks and people popping out of the woods, wanting to jump on the coattails. I just told him, you stay up there and do your thing and we’ll come see you. Don’t come back until you get a degree or an NFL contract.”
Sunday still has years to go before he has a chance to make the jump to the NFL, but his freshman season at UW is the first step.
Seeing the field this year won’t be an easy task. The running backs room is crowded — the Huskies returned one of last year’s breakout stars in redshirt sophomore Richard Newton as well as seniors Sean McGrew and Kamari Pleasant. Redshirt freshman Cameron Davis seems primed to take on a bigger role, too.
But if there’s one thing Sunday has learned over the years, it’s how to put in the work.
“Every kid wants to play college football,” Anderson said. “You go and ask any junior high football player in the United States what do you want to do? I want to play college football. Well, wanting to and being blessed with the talent and opportunity to and taking advantage of it and qualifying and taking care of your academics and continuing to improve and get better (are different). That’s on you as a player.
“He was blessed with God-given ability and physicality and strength and all of those things. He’s grown and matured as a player. He’s a weight room guy. He loves being in the weight room. I don’t think he ever missed a practice in his high school career. Never missed a game. He’s just a tough, physical kid.”
As a junior at Connally, Sunday rushed for 2,329 yards and 36 touchdowns and then he ran for more than 2,000 yards and 35 touchdowns again as a senior. He ended his career as the school record holder for career and single-season yards and touchdowns.
Considered the No. 41 running back in the Class of 2020 by 247Sports, Sunday was named the District 8-4A Division II Offensive MVP as a senior. In 2019, he led Connally to a 10-0 start and their first undefeated regular season since 1990. The Cadets also advanced to the state semifinals.
“It didn’t matter what the situation was,” Anderson said, “he was a kid we could give the ball to and we knew he was going to take care of business. There were several games that he just took the bull by the horns and carried it 30, 35 times a game and won us close ballgames over the past couple of years.”
‘A great mindset to have in our room’
Anderson took over the Connally program in 2015. Sunday was in seventh grade, and Anderson assumed a father figure role. Along with his wife, Anderson guided Sunday through the recruitment process. They accompanied him on official visits, and Anderson took him on several unofficial stops, too.
Anderson said Huskies running backs coach Keith Bhonapha was “upfront and honest” from the beginning, and he stayed the course even after Sunday had more than a dozen other offers, including Baylor, Utah and Arkansas. The Huskies appealed to Sunday for several reasons, including their history of playing multiple running backs and sending players to the NFL.
In January 2019, Anderson took Sunday for an unofficial visit to UW. Chris Petersen was still the head coach at the time.
“From the time we got off the bus from the airport to the stadium to the front door, all the way to Coach Petersen’s office, every one of those coaches were talking the same language, using the same terminology,” Anderson said.
Like the rest of the 2020 class, Sunday stuck with his commitment even after Petersen stepped down and Jimmy Lake took over. He’s one of just three players on UW’s roster from Texas, and he’s the only running back who didn’t grow up in Washington state or California. But Bhonapha said the coaches look for players worth stepping outside their footprint for.
Sunday fit that description.
He first caught Bhonapha’s attention with his sophomore game film. After getting an idea of his potential as a player, Bhonapha reached out to the coaching staff at Connally. He wanted to know about Sunday as a person. What he learned was this:
“A great kid, great young man,” Anderson said. “Super smart young man that’s passionate about playing at the next level and hopefully one day getting to play in the NFL.
“He’s one of the most physical and tough kids that I’ve been around. Not just talking about on the field play. He’s overcome a lot of adversity in his life to stay focused on his goals. He’s a kid that lived in the weight room and got better each and every year.”
When Bhonapha heard that, he knew Sunday would be an ideal fit.
“We’ve got guys from California,” Bhonapha said. “We’ve got guys from Washington. Having a guy from Texas is a great mindset to have in our room. Just adding some more seasoning to the pot.”
