Photo Credit Rick Scuteri | AP
Former SRJC standout, Jason Verrett and the San Francisco 49ers are one game away from becoming Super Bowl Champions. While Verrett will not play in the Super Bowl due to injury, people around SRJC are excited at the chance that another Bear Cub could win the Lombardi Trophy. If the 49ers are victorious on Sunday, Verrett will be the first Bear Cub since tight end, Cooper Helfet (Seahawks, XLVIII) to win a Super Bowl.
While Verrett was selected with a first-round pick by the Chargers in the 2014 NFL Draft after an All-American season at TCU, his journey through junior college is one that many players can relate to. Verrett, an option-style quarterback in high school from Fairfield, CA came to SRJC without knowing what position he would play. Head Coach, Lenny Wagner, Verrett's father, and Verrett himself ultimately decided that defensive back would be his position. Even with a new position chosen, there were no starting spots available in the secondary. "When Jason came, I think we had six Division 1 cornerbacks on the roster. We convinced him to grey shirt and got him exposure during the spring," said Head Coach, Lenny Wagner. During spring practices, Verrett stood out and started getting noticed by TCU, but needed to see him in game action. Once he saw the field, Verrett's talent was on full display. Wagner touched on Verrett's work ethic by saying, "His dad was a coach, so he knew the expectation level and how to practice and prepare. The biggest challenge for him was fine-tuning and learning a new position. Learning from the six guys in front of him helped him grow tremendously." After just one season playing for SRJC, he headed off to TCU on a scholarship. "I know he was gonna be really good and having three years to play at TCU was a huge deal because I have a strong relationship with Gary Patterson, who I played under and who gave me my first coaching job, so I knew it would take Jason some time to adjust to his system, but it was a good opportunity for him to keep progressing," said Wagner. Verrett had a chance to leave TCU after his junior season, potentially getting drafted in the second round, but came back to Santa Rosa and met with Coach Wagner to discuss the pros and cons of leaving school early to enter the draft, which led to the decision of going back to school. After the All-Ameican season that garnered the attention of many NFL suitors, Verrett became the only first-round pick in the history of SRJC Football.
The development of Verrett at SRJC has brought positive momentum to the program. Wagner noted, "Because Jason became a first-round pick, players see that that path is a possibility at Santa Rosa Junior College even though it might be unrealistic for a lot of guys. It puts the thought in player's minds that that opportunity could be there if they work hard enough." Verrett has had quite an extensive injury history but has also been a productive player when healthy. In his 40 career games, he has 7 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 touchdown. In his healthiest season, 2015, Verrett was named to the NFL Pro Bowl. Despite injuries, Verrett keeps getting opportunities in the NFL not just because of his athletic ability, but also his leadership. "Jason is a great example of the type of people that we try to produce as a human being and as a teammate. Every team he has ever been on, he has been a leader who leads by example. He has been a guy who has always bet on himself and so far he has come through every single time," said Wagner.
Verrett and Wagner still have a good relationship nearly a decade and a half since Verrett first stepped on campus, and Wagner is hoping that Verrett will be one of the key guest speakers at the annual SRJC Football Banquet in April.
In addition to Verrett reaching the Super Bowl, other SRJC players have reached the NCAA National Championship in recent memory. In 2022, former Bear Cub, Soni Misi was a rotational defensive lineman for the National Champion runner-up, TCU Horned Frogs. Misi had a tackle in both the CFP Semifinal victory over Michigan and the CFP National Championship loss against Georgia. This season former Bear Cub, Devonte Manning won the NCAA Division II National Championship with Harding University. Manning recorded two tackles in Harding's National Championship win over Colorado School of Minds. "It is a really exciting time for our program, players like Devonte showed that the right situation for the player is most important. Not every player in our program will play Division 1 ball, sometimes not even our best players will go Division 1, but our guys can succeed if they find a school that fits them," said Wagner.
What happens to Verrett's career after Super Bowl LVIII is unknown. What is known is the admiration that Wagner and the entire SRJC Football program have for Verrett, not only as a player but also as a person. Those associated with the program have seen Verrett come back from adversity time and time again, so a return to the field is certainly not out of the question, and people around Santa Rosa will continue rooting for his success.