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Mar. 4—Tuscola quarterback Jett Bartley has found his collegiate home, signing with Division II Wingate University.
Bartley's signing ceremony, held in the Tuscola gym last week, was a particularly bittersweet farewell for Coach Jonathan Crompton. Crompton brought Bartley into the Tuscola football program as a rising junior — having known the player for five years and known his family for even longer. Bartley's grandmother was the coach's fourth grade teacher.
"This is a cool moment as a head coach, but even more so personally because of the connection I've had throughout my life with this family," Crompton said.
The quarterback played a critical role for the Mountaineers. He combined an ability to move in the pocket with great arm talent to produce several highlight reel plays for Tuscola.
"He was able to extend plays, avoid the first rusher if somebody got free. That's massive to that position. You don't necessarily have to be a four-second 40 runner. You've just got to be mobile. And he did that really well," Crompton said.
He will now continue his athletic career with a chance to compete at the next level.
"All the work definitely paid off. It was definitely super exciting. It was a relief," Bartley said.
That hard work is a reflection of his character, according to his head coach.
"It's always special when you have players that can have the opportunity to go to the next level, but especially a kid like Jett," Crompton said. "He's just one of the best humans there are, too. I'm excited for him. I know he's gonna go out there and bust his butt and do what he's supposed to do, on and off the field."
Bartley first put the pads on in seventh grade. He had wanted to play since early childhood, but his parents made him to wait until middle school to start.
It wasn't until his eighth grade year that he began to take snaps under center.
"I knew the game from watching it, but really learning it was fun. I really had to work," Bartley said, having not played at the youth level.
Bartley started at A.C. Reynolds in Asheville before transitioning to Tuscola. Despite being at Tuscola for just a couple of years, he truly found himself at home with the Mountaineers.
"It's been great," Bartley said. "They've accepted me with open arms. It's a loving community. They opened the doors up to me. They were very kind. I fit right in, got to know the boys and the coaches. It was a great time."
And it goes more than one way. While Bartley feels at home in the gold and black, the Tuscola community has fully adopted the quarterback as one of their own.
"He's always gonna be a Mountaineer," Crompton said. "We always root for our guys at the next level. And he was a special one. We're gonna miss him, but rooting for the best for his future."
Crompton was only one year into his coaching position at Tuscola when he brought Bartley on board. Once Bartley arrived at Tuscola, he fully bought into what his coach was preaching and the two became a team.
"That's a very unique position when it comes to that," Crompton said. "He always tried to get guys out that wanted to work out and go throw in the off-season. That position is as close to a full-time job as you can get. He did really well with that."
This year has been big for Bartley in terms of recruiting, but it's been anything but straightforward. The transfer portal has changed how college teams look at the signal-caller position, explained Jason Bartley, the quarterback's dad.
"They wait to see what they're getting out of the portal before they even talk to the high school kids," Jason Bartley said. "We had several schools that were interested but dropped off after seeing what they got in the portal."
However, the quarterback maintained that everything happened for a reason.
"It was definitely crazy," Jett Bartley said. "I give all the glory to God. From the get-go, the big thing for me was trusting in God's plan and knowing he had a plan. I had a plan and vision that I wanted to happen, but it definitely didn't work out that way. It was a lot longer than I thought, but I'm happy with where I ended up."
Wingate stood out to the quarterback for several reasons, including academics. But the biggest was the coaches.
"I really loved the coaching staff," Jett Bartley said. "They have a great coaching staff up there. I loved the history, the winning history and the winning culture they have there. You're going to go there, and you're going to win. You're going to be pushed to the best of your ability."
The fact that Wingate is only about three hours from home, located outside Charlotte, was just a great bonus.
"Making sure my family is able to come watch my games is really nice," Jett Bartley said. "It wasn't my top priority, but it's definitely a nice cherry on top."
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Bartley's signing ceremony, held in the Tuscola gym last week, was a particularly bittersweet farewell for Coach Jonathan Crompton. Crompton brought Bartley into the Tuscola football program as a rising junior — having known the player for five years and known his family for even longer. Bartley's grandmother was the coach's fourth grade teacher.
"This is a cool moment as a head coach, but even more so personally because of the connection I've had throughout my life with this family," Crompton said.
The quarterback played a critical role for the Mountaineers. He combined an ability to move in the pocket with great arm talent to produce several highlight reel plays for Tuscola.
"He was able to extend plays, avoid the first rusher if somebody got free. That's massive to that position. You don't necessarily have to be a four-second 40 runner. You've just got to be mobile. And he did that really well," Crompton said.
He will now continue his athletic career with a chance to compete at the next level.
"All the work definitely paid off. It was definitely super exciting. It was a relief," Bartley said.
That hard work is a reflection of his character, according to his head coach.
"It's always special when you have players that can have the opportunity to go to the next level, but especially a kid like Jett," Crompton said. "He's just one of the best humans there are, too. I'm excited for him. I know he's gonna go out there and bust his butt and do what he's supposed to do, on and off the field."
Bartley first put the pads on in seventh grade. He had wanted to play since early childhood, but his parents made him to wait until middle school to start.
It wasn't until his eighth grade year that he began to take snaps under center.
"I knew the game from watching it, but really learning it was fun. I really had to work," Bartley said, having not played at the youth level.
Bartley started at A.C. Reynolds in Asheville before transitioning to Tuscola. Despite being at Tuscola for just a couple of years, he truly found himself at home with the Mountaineers.
"It's been great," Bartley said. "They've accepted me with open arms. It's a loving community. They opened the doors up to me. They were very kind. I fit right in, got to know the boys and the coaches. It was a great time."
And it goes more than one way. While Bartley feels at home in the gold and black, the Tuscola community has fully adopted the quarterback as one of their own.
"He's always gonna be a Mountaineer," Crompton said. "We always root for our guys at the next level. And he was a special one. We're gonna miss him, but rooting for the best for his future."
Crompton was only one year into his coaching position at Tuscola when he brought Bartley on board. Once Bartley arrived at Tuscola, he fully bought into what his coach was preaching and the two became a team.
"That's a very unique position when it comes to that," Crompton said. "He always tried to get guys out that wanted to work out and go throw in the off-season. That position is as close to a full-time job as you can get. He did really well with that."
This year has been big for Bartley in terms of recruiting, but it's been anything but straightforward. The transfer portal has changed how college teams look at the signal-caller position, explained Jason Bartley, the quarterback's dad.
"They wait to see what they're getting out of the portal before they even talk to the high school kids," Jason Bartley said. "We had several schools that were interested but dropped off after seeing what they got in the portal."
However, the quarterback maintained that everything happened for a reason.
"It was definitely crazy," Jett Bartley said. "I give all the glory to God. From the get-go, the big thing for me was trusting in God's plan and knowing he had a plan. I had a plan and vision that I wanted to happen, but it definitely didn't work out that way. It was a lot longer than I thought, but I'm happy with where I ended up."
Wingate stood out to the quarterback for several reasons, including academics. But the biggest was the coaches.
"I really loved the coaching staff," Jett Bartley said. "They have a great coaching staff up there. I loved the history, the winning history and the winning culture they have there. You're going to go there, and you're going to win. You're going to be pushed to the best of your ability."
The fact that Wingate is only about three hours from home, located outside Charlotte, was just a great bonus.
"Making sure my family is able to come watch my games is really nice," Jett Bartley said. "It wasn't my top priority, but it's definitely a nice cherry on top."
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