Jasmin Espinosa BROWNSVILLE – True friends are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart. For some student athletes, playing college sports and making friends on the team is a new beginning.
For Aidan Jakobsohn, a redshirt freshman quarterback, and Jaydon Smith, a redshirt freshman wide receiver, playing college football on the same team was not their first encounter, as their friendship started in high school and goes beyond the field.
“We’ve played a lot of games together, you know, throughout all high school. And every practice in high school, every practice now, so we kind of just have a knack for … what each of us are going to do,” Jakobsohn said. “Maybe if a play breaks down or something, which way he’ll break.”
Jakobsohn and Smith grew up in Ingleside, Texas and attended Ingleside high school.
The two became friends at a young age, bonding over shared interests, a similar sense of humor and a passion for playing video games such as Rocket League.
Jakobsohn said a moment where he connected with Smith was on the field when they were having a practice scramble drill.
“We just had a … play [break] down and it was kind of a scramble drill,” Jakobsohn said. “He kind of just broke into a spot … where I was already throwing and I was like, ‘Well, I hope he’s breaking here.’” … “So, I mean, for him, he started to do what he was supposed to do but you know, the connection came in and then we saw the window.”
Smith said having a bond with Jakobsohn has allowed them to correct the mistakes made out on the field.
“We’re able to correct mistakes really quickly … and build off of that really fast,” Smith said. “Me and him are both really intense players, so we fix mistakes and … we keep going.”
Jakobsohn said they have received a lot of support and understands not many players get the opportunity to play sports in high school and college with a friend.
“We have a lot of support from you know, family [and] coaches back home, so it’s just, it’s a cool thing. Once in a lifetime opportunity,” Jakobsohn said. “Not everybody can say that they got to do that.”
Smith said the reunion came as a surprise, but he is glad to see a friend he once shared the field with.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Smith said. “It wasn’t anything we were necessarily planning. It just kind of happened this way.” … “It’s really fun to be, with a familiar person down here in the Valley.”
Jakobsohn and Smith are just one of the many friendships on the field as UTRGV baseball players Hank Warren, a redshirt senior outfielder, and Andrew Taylor, a catcher redshirt junior, share a similar story on the baseball field.
Although both players grew up in different cities, they share the same beliefs and roots.
“He’s from East Texas … so him and I can kind of bond and talk about that kind of stuff,” Taylor said. “We talk about our Lord and savior Jesus Christ as much as we can. That’s something really important of the both of us.”
Warren said he met Taylor through a high school teammate and reconnected with him on the team.
“I played summer ball with one of his high school teammates,” Warren said. “That’s how I met or just learned a little bit more about him.” … “And then especially this spring, we’ve really grown together, rooming together … on the road.”
He said the toughest part about playing away is being on the road, but he is glad to have someone he can talk to.
“When you’re on the road, you’re constantly living in the same room with somebody,” Warren said. “It’s always nice to kind of come back and, you know, decompress and be able to have someone to talk to and then even just have things outside of baseball because we’re so consumed with this every day. We’re out here multiple hours a day doing this.”
Beyond the other things they have in common, they still share one singular goal, to achieve victory on the field.
“I would say he’s a hard worker and he wants to win and that’s one thing that I think we share in common is that we both just want to win, and we do whatever it takes for this team to win,” Warren said
Harris receives National Recognition
Sprinting her way to the top is one vaquero who is leaving her mark as a senior. Nayla Harris , a senior sprinter, was born in Seguin Texas and attended Seguin high school. In 2023, she joined UTRGV Track and Field when she was a freshman.
Harris recalls being very timid at first however, she began to build confidence in herself after her second year.
“After two years of losing all the time, after sophomore year and into the summer, I was like no, like something [has got to] change,” Harris said. “[I] flip a switch and I just gain the confidence and started thinking about what I could do instead of what I did do.”
Harris became the first women’s track and field athlete to reach the NCAA Indoor Championship and earned first team all-American honors with a fifth-place finish in the sixty-meter dash.
With this accomplishment, she became the first in the program and in Southland Conference history something she did not believe she could do.
“It means a lot,” Harris said. “I definitely did not think I could do it freshman year, so coming out and being the underdog and taking stuff that people thought they had, it’s great.”
She said balancing a healthy diet and sleeping is important to her.
“I stay far away from like, fast food and stuff,” Harris said. “I haven’t [eaten] like McDonald’s or Whataburger in like, I don’t know, years. So like, just stay on the … healthy side of stuff. [I] always eat vegetables every meal.”
Harris’s drive to succeed in her everyday races has been the support from her family, coach and her relationship with God.
“In practice, I definitely say I like trying to beat [my teammates] every time,” Harris said. “If I don’t, I definitely get down on myself and I’m going to try harder on the next one, but they definitely help me in practice by going against each other and being lined up with them.”
Aside from running track, Harris enjoys fitness, working out, playing videos games such as EA Sports UFC and Madden, and reading books from James Patterson.
After graduation she plans to pursue a professional career in track.
“I say professional track just [because] I feel like I’m already like, I’m good enough right now, but I could definitely be way better,” Harris said. “I think I have a chance at being a professional track athlete.”
Four Vaqueros named Academic All-American District Honors
Last week UTRGV Athletics announced that Manou Meulebeek, a sophomore diver, Delaney Murphy, a senior diver, Ida Rudelius, a sophomore swimmer, and Olivia Votava, a junior swimmer, have been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.
The Academic All-District Team selections are a part of the Academic All-American Program, which is the longest running and premier award for athletic and academic success across many levels of college sports. This was all I had for you today on KVAQ Sports. Have an awesome day, Vaquero
