By Lloyd Cobb
If at first you don’t succeed at football, play volleyball until you grow to be 6’2” and become a deep threat receiver. This is the path of the Rams’ superstar sophomore Jeremiah Nash.
Nash tried football at the age of 8, but it didn’t stick. Basketball became his playground, where he was a “floater,” able to guard, score, and fill any role. However, as a budding athlete, it was volleyball where he truly learned to dominate the game. Behind the net, he learned to hit the ball at its highest point, a skill Rams fans now see when the wide receiver hangs in the air as if gravity were negotiable.
When he reached high school, football called again, and he decided to give it another shot. He started as a safety, but his dislike of being scored on made him aggressive; he then moved to receiver and never looked back. He knew how it felt to be on the defensive line, and now he was the one causing the frustration.
On Sophomore Night at City College on Nov. 1, Nash caught four passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns to secure the Rams’ win over Foothill. “I love seeing my teammates do well — it makes the game better for everyone,” he said.
Outside the field, Nash is an avid fan of Japanese anime and says he’s never too far from his copy of the bible.
Before every game, he prays with his father. He listens to R&B music before rallying with his teammates, allowing him to be calm and have a more intimate relationship with the game. During each play, he thinks of his mother — his way of repaying her. His mother never misses a game. Nash says it’s his family that keeps him grounded.
When asked what his favorite play was, he said it was his first touchdown, where he ran deep and cut back towards the corner and dove for the catch, and crashed into the orange pylon. After scoring, he scanned the stands and locked eyes with his mother, already on her feet.
Nash plans to make it to the NFL, but first, he has to make it to Division I.
“God wouldn’t put me in this position if I wasn’t meant for it,” Nash said.
Nine games into the season, and Nash has nine touchdowns and 673 yards, with an average of 96 yards per game. Now the Rams are headed to their first conference championship since 2021.
Two years at City College is short, but for an all-rounder athlete who learned to read the game from both sides of the field, every rhythm, every angle – it is enough time to rise.