Next game
Who: Dayton (5-1, 3-0 PFL) at Valparaiso (1-5, 0-3)
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Brown Field
Radio: WHIO-AM (1290), WHIO-FM (95.7)
Online: News, photos, stats and more DaytonDailyNews .com/ud
DAYTON — JMichael Jonard wears it proudly, but he probably would have been spared a few hassles over the years if had been given a more conventional name.
The fifth-year senior receiver for the University of Dayton football team is named after his father, J Michael Jonard. But when his mother filled out his birth certificate, she removed the space between the J and Michael, and few outside of the Jonard family manage to get the spelling right on the first try.
“I always give my mom a hard time about it,” Jonard said. “People can’t find me (on computer files). I went to the pharmacy the other day, and they’re like, ‘We can’t find you.’ I said, ‘Did you try different spellings of JMichael?’ ”
Fortunately for the Flyers, Jonard — who is called “Jay” or “Jay-Mike” by his friends — hasn’t been hard to locate on the field. He broke Bill Franks’ single-season school record for receptions with 64 grabs in 2007. Three teammates also surpassed Franks’ total of 55 that season as the Flyers installed the spread offense for the first time.
Jonard, whose reception total was eclipsed by Justin Millio’s 67-catch effort in 2008, sat out last season after missing the first semester for undisclosed reasons. But the former standout from Big Walnut High School in Galena, Ohio, has become one of UD’s top targets again. He has 23 receptions, two fewer than team leader Justin Watkins.
“He’s not the fastest guy, but he runs great routes,” UD coach Rick Chamberlin said. “He can catch the ball, and if you get it to him, he’s hard to bring down.”
Almost all UD players are redshirted as freshmen, and many graduate in four years and pass up their final year of eligilibity to join the working world.
Only seven of 19 potential fifth-year seniors returned this season. When asked what he’d tell next year’s players facing that choice, Jonard said: “Ultimately, it’s up to them, but us seven fifth-year seniors say we wouldn’t trade it for anything. You’ve got to be crazy to leave an extra year of football on the table. This is all you’ve got.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or at dharris @DaytonDailyNews.com.
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