Jovan George is still just a 13-year-old eighth grader-to-be at Kearny’s Lincoln School.
But the young Kearny resident has his future already mapped out to detail.
“I want football to be my life,” said the ambitious teenager, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 265 pounds as a fledgling teenager. “I want to go to the National Football League.”
George used to play for the Kearny Generals youth football program before he simply got too big and too good, looking for better competition with the Bergen County All-Stars.
His mother, Candace Illingworth, knew that Jovan was simply getting bigger and better than the rest of the kids his age.
“He was taller than everyone else, too,” Illingworth said.
“I actually liked being bigger than everyone else,” George said. “I liked playing the skilled positions, but I knew where my future was going to be. Ever since I put the pads on and the helmet, I felt that football was my sport.”
George’s uncle, Kearny Parks and Recreation Director Ralph Cattafi, also knew that George was a special kind of player. So Cattafi took his nephew to a series of tryout camps and showcases to display the rare talent that George possesses.
Last April, Cattafi took George to a two-day tryout at Edison High School at a showcase run by an organization called USA Football.
“There were 500 kids from grades six through 11 there,” Cattafi said. “They put the kids through two days of workout with no equipment.”
Jovan George was impressive enough to the coaches in attendance that he should participate in the USA Football All-American Week in July at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
“I was honored to get a chance to play for my country,” George said. “I was very proud. I knew that it would take a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve something like this.”
In fact, George mentioned hard work and dedication a total of eight times in a recent 20-minute interview. Yes, he’s a teenager who has his head on straight and knows what he wants.
“I knew I had a chance to make this team,” George said. “I knew how talented I was. I was not intimidated. I have a lot of confidence in myself.”
What did it mean for George to be among the football legends in Canton?
“It was very impressive,” George said. “We had someone there who was telling us stories about the NFL legends. It made me feel like I can be there. I have to work harder and have the dedication to get to that level. It’s my dream.”
While he was in Canton, George got to see a football card of someone who aspired for football greatness from Kearny, none other than the late Alex Webster, who was a superstar with the New York Giants in the franchise’s glory days of the late 1950s and early 1960s, playing in a total of six NFL championship games, winning three.
Webster was eventually honored with his permanent place in the Giants’ Ring of Honor in MetLife Stadium and was feted in December, 2011. Unfortunately, Webster died just four months later in Florida.
But George was impressed to know that another football great came from Kearny.
“I thought that it was so cool that there was another person from Kearny in the Hall of Fame,” George said. “When I got to the Hall of Fame, I went to look for him and I was glad I found him.”
George said that he liked being on the All-American team with other players from around the country. Only three players from New Jersey were selected.
“I thought it was pretty cool to meet other people from the United States,” George said. “I got to know them. Knowing other people can benefit my life and perhaps tell me something that I never knew before. I realize that football is more than a game. It’s a brotherhood. It helps you in everyday life as well.”
George was asked what it felt like to be selected to participate in the game, which was played on the field, named after the late New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, where the Pro Football Hall of Fame is located.
“I think it was a huge accomplishment,” George said. “It tells me that I can do whatever I want if I work hard enough. It was a very good experience for me. It prepared me for high school and college and what it’s going to be like. This gives me a head start. I can be more intelligent in the game of football. I know I have to work hard in school, that I can’t get anywhere without schoolwork. I have very big plans. As long as I keep my mind straight and work hard, I can do it, because I have a lot of potential and talent. All the coaches in Ohio said that.”
George already goes to regular training sessions at FASST in Lyndhurst working with special coaches Ryan Marshall and Paul Johnson. On Monday, the FASST staff works with George on his lower body weight. Wednesdays are set for upper body and lifting weights. Fridays are relegated to speed and agility training.
And after going to Canton, George feels like he’s a better football player. He’s a defensive tackle first and foremost.
“I feel like people are going to expect big things from me,” George said. “I know I have to get better each and every day.”
His mom is impressed.
“He’s very driven and very determined,” Illingworth said. “If he has his goals, then I’ll support him.”
But George is still only in eighth grade. He has a bright future, no doubt. But talking a good game and playing one are two totally different things. Jovan George seems to realize that as well.
CAPTION
Kearny’s Jovan George earned a berth on the USA Football All-American team last month. Photo by Jim Hague
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”