HIALEAH – All Jaeze Tracey needed was for one college to believe in him and his quarterback ability.
ASA Miami came through for the Pahokee (Fla.) 2019 alum this past summer in a big way. Florida’s first junior college (JUCO) gave Tracey a renewed sense of purpose, and it has certainly paid off for both parties in more ways than one.
In seven games this fall, Tracey has completed 87 of his 162 passes (53.7 completion rate) for 1,311 yards, 16 touchdowns, and just three interceptions.
The Muck native has helped lead the ASA Miami Silver Storm to a 6-3 record at this juncture and could catapult his team to a 7-3 final regular season record with a win at home today (1 p.m. kickoff at Ted Hendricks Stadium) against Goode Elite Prep (Ala.).
ASA Miami head coach Roosevelt ‘RO’ Williams has been relatively impressed with Tracey’s level of poise and promise as ASA Miami’s starting quarterback.
“He’s a special kid and a special talent,” Williams said of Tracey earlier in the season. “What we have to do week by week is keep building his confidence up. He was just coming out of high school, and now he’s in junior college. It’s a big gap in between that, but if we can fill that gap up day by day, get them good practices in, get them reps in, he’s going to make a lot of big plays for us. We depend on him as a young guy to be the leader of this team.”
Tracey had two impressive games this season against Advance Preparatory Academy (Auburndale, Fla.).
In the regular-season opener at home on Aug. 24, Tracey accounted for four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) in ASA Miami’s 34-2 win. And during an afternoon game on Sunday, Oct. 27 at Ted Hendricks Stadium, Tracey was 4-of-5 passing with one touchdown pass, while adding another score on the ground in his team’s 71-0 win.
These are just some of many highlight moments for Tracey, who recently said he was unsure about how college football would work out for him.
“When I graduated high school, I didn’t know where I wanted to go,” Tracey said. “But when ASA Miami started talking to me, they made me feel like I was home, like I was in Belle Glade again.”
After today, anything can happen for Tracey. He may be off to a four-year college, or he may return to ASA Miami next year as a sophomore.
But regardless of what happens next, Tracey can always rest in the fact that ASA Miami gave him a fresh college start.
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde and ASA Miami
