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Princeton Packet Football Player of the Year

Fitzgerald brought WW-P South success

By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   Todd Smith was still coaching the cross country team the first time he watched J.B. Fitzgerald play football as a freshman.
   ”The first thing that jumped out at me was his size and speed,” said Smith, now in his third season as the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South head football coach. “When he was a freshman, I remember seeing him and right away you notice that he’s huge. But he just kept getting bigger and faster. You could tell right away that he was a legit player.”
   For the last three years, Fitzgerald has been a legit player for Smith and the Pirates. He’s helped the team go 27-6 over that three-year span, which is all the more impressive when you consider the Pirates had not won 27 games in the six previous seasons combined.
   ”It’s been a great ride,” said Fitzgerald, who plans to continue playing football at the University of Michigan beginning next fall. “I’ve loved my four years at South and playing the last three under Coach Smith. It’s been great to get to play both ways the last three years. I really feel like I have grown as a player and an individual.
   ”The program has improved and I think a lot of that has to do with how hard all the coaches and players have worked. Since Coach Smith and the rest of the coaching staff has come here we’ve worked out butts off all year long to become better players.”
   Fitzgerald is one of those players who worked hard day-after-day for three years to become as good a football player as he could be. This year, that meant finishing the season with 123 tackles, a pair of sacks and a pair of interceptions from his linebacker position on defense. He was also the Pirates’ top receiver with 23 catches from the tight end position.
   Fitzgerald’s leadership and numbers helped the Pirates finish 10-2 and reach the Central Jersey Group IV final for the first time since 1987.
   ”He was a two-way starter for us that first year as a sophomore,” Smith said. “Junior year we moved him from defensive line to linebacker. The main reason we did it was that we needed a little more help at linebacker. But when we made that move was when he really took off. That was a great spot for him.
   ”As a defensive end, he had the size. But now as a linebacker, you take that size and speed and make him a linebacker and you have a true Division I-A kid. He’s a tough kid that just has a real nose for the football and is a fierce competitor.”
   J.B. Fitzgerald is the Princeton Packet Football Player of the Year.
   When Fitzgerald was a freshman, he played linebacker and excelled at the position. When he got to the varsity level full time as a sophomore, Smith and the new staff needed him to play defensive end. That lasted into the next year when he was moved back to linebacker.
   ”Coach Smith came in my sophomore year and he moved me to defensive end,” said Fitzgerald, who played with the varsity the last three games of his freshman year. “I played there that year and the first three games of my junior year. Then we needed to make a change to help the defense and he moved me to linebacker. It opened me up to being able to make more plays.”
   For three years, all Fitzgerald has done is make plays. It led to interest from college programs all over the country. In the end, he narrowed his choices to Michigan, Florida and Rutgers before deciding on the Wolverines.
   ”At the end of my sophomore year I started to get some interest from schools,” Fitzgerald said. “Then after my junior year when I played linebacker, more schools got interested. It just started to pile on from there. It was crazy and unexpected.
   ”Now that our season is over, it’s definitely time to start thinking about it. I’m happy with my decision about Michigan. It’s a great place and a great school. It’s always been one of my dreams to play college football and to play at a Division I school.”
   Smith knows the Wolverines will be getting a great defender. He also knows they’ll be getting the kind of player any coach would want in their program.
   ”He’s a real character kid,” Smith said. “He works hard and does well in the classroom, off the field and on the field. I think a lot of that is a result of good family upbringing. He’s just a great kid.
   ”I enjoyed seeing the way he turned into a great leader. We were able to watch his maturation process as a leader and as a football player. He made himself into a true Division I prospect. And he didn’t let that recruiting process change him as a person. I think a lot of kids would have had something like that get to them. But J.B. never got a big head or an ego.”
   While being recruited by major colleges all across the country, Fitzgerald never let that get to his head. He remained grounded and was always just one of the guys on the football team.
   ”I never really let that get in the way of the team,” said Fitzgerald, who on Friday was named New Jersey’s Gatorade Player of the Year. “No matter what, it’s still always about the team. We’re all close, like brothers. They have always been supportive of me.”
   A member of the student council and a strong performer in the classroom, Fitzgerald has brought a lot to the football program at South. He’s also taken a great deal as well, which has helped mold him as a player and a person.
   ”It’s been a great ride,” Fitzgerald said. “I’ve loved every second of it. I wouldn’t trade the opportunity for anything. I played with a great bunch of players.”