Je’Ron Stokes gets a lot from his family.
Stokes, a junior at Northeast High School, gets his name from his parents. His mother’s name is Juanita and his father’s name is Ron.
He also gets his speed from his parents. Ron was a football star at Germantown High School. His mother ran track while growing up in California.
That speed comes in quite nicely when Je’Ron is playing football — a reason he’s a star receiver at Northeast.
Another reason is his brother Malik.
Malik is the starting quarterback at Northeast and he did a great job getting the ball to his older brother.
Last year, Je’Ron caught 28 passes for more than 600 yards, and in the process he broke the school’s record for receiving yards. Most of those passes, including six that went for touchdowns, were thrown by his brother.
And Je’Ron is looking forward to next fall, when he’ll play his final year at Northeast.
He’s also looking farther down the road.
Last week, Stokes accepted a scholarship to the University of Tennessee, where he’ll continue his football career.
"It just seemed like the right place. Once I looked around and saw how much I liked everything about Tennessee, there was no reason to wait," Je’Ron said. "I liked the football program, I like the school and I like that they have a good reputation in my major, engineering.
"I’ve always liked to draw, and I’ve always wanted to help design my own house," he continued. "And if I decided not to do engineering, Tennessee also has a good sports medicine program. If I do that, I’ll be able to stay around the game. That would be great."
Je’Ron’s amazing season last year helped get him nationwide recognition.
He stands 6-feet-1 and weighs 180 pounds. Combine that size with his 4.3-second speed in the 40-yard dash and his pillow-soft hands and you pretty much have the prototype wideout.
Oh, and don’t overlook his work ethic.
"The guy is talented," said Northeast coach Mel Hinton. "He’s got great hands, he’s got great speed, he’s very smart when it comes to football and he’s a hard worker. There’s not much not to like about him.
"He deserves this," the coach added. "He puts in a lot of work, plus he has everything you need to be a good player. I think he has a chance to do very well in Tennessee. I couldn’t be happier for him."
Last year, led by the Stokes brothers, Northeast had a solid season. The Vikings went 7-5 overall and advanced to the Public League semifinals before falling to Bok, 3-0.
Next season, Stokes is happy he can focus on helping the Vikings try to claim a Public League crown.
"The whole recruiting thing can be stressful," he said. "I’m happy it’s over. I’m really glad my decision is made. For a while there, I had just about every Division 1 school recruiting me. But I’m really glad I picked Tennessee because it had everything I wanted.
"Now I can just worry about winning a championship."
Well, he can still help his brother nail down a scholarship.
Maybe a few diving catches or shoestring catches can pad the quarterback’s stats, right?
"I don’t need to make him look good, he does that pretty good by himself," Je’Ron said with a laugh. "But if he has questions about the recruiting process, I’ll help him. Plus, he saw what I did, what I went through and how I picked my school. If that helps him out, great. But I think he’ll be just fine without me." ••
Joe Mason can be reached at joemason70@hotmail.com