Junior QB Floyd ready to take up leadership role for Leechburg football team

By: Jerin Steele
Sunday, August 20, 2023 | 5:30 PM

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Behind one of the end zones of Leechburg’s Veterans Memorial Field sits a garage with a gigantic Blue Devil logo painted on it.

That’s just one many examples dotted around the community showing how much pride is taken in Leechburg athletics.

That pride is not lost on junior quarterback Jayden Floyd. He relishes the opportunity to wear a Leechburg uniform on Friday nights.

“The atmosphere here is crazy,” Floyd said. “I think it’s better that we have a stadium off campus. It’s up on the hill. The band marches up here from the school with cop cars leading them. The kids love it, the players love it and the fans love it. It’s just great.”

What’s made the experience even better lately is winning.

After a long stretch of lean years, the Blue Devils have made consecutive playoff appearances. But with the graduation of standouts such as Braylan Lovelace, a new generation is tasked with keeping the recent run going.

And Floyd is ready to lead the way.

“For the younger guys it’s important for them to see that Leechburg can do it,” Floyd said. “If you put your mind to anything you can do it. It starts in the weight room. You work hard in the weight room and apply it to the field. I believe we’re going to get it.”

Floyd was a receiver as a freshman and was on the field for the first home playoff game in program history, a win over California. He took over at quarterback last year and passed for more than 1,300 yards with 17 touchdowns.

He will have a new cast around him. His top two targets last season, Tyler Foley and Logan Kline, graduated as the top two in receiving yards in school history, but he is pleased with the progress he has made with the current group.

“The young guys are really learning,” Floyd said. “Every 7-on-7 this summer they got better. I’m learning them better, too. We’re getting the chemistry we need to be good.”

One of his main targets will be tight end Jake Cummings. Floyd, Cummings and lineman Jayden Rosenberger went to college camps at Bucknell and Lehigh over the summer. The trip was a positive experience.

“Here we’re big fish in a little pond, but when you go out to those camps, you’re a small fish in a big pond,” Floyd said. “We learned and bonded well.”

Floyd said he worked on his accuracy over the summer as well as his scrambling ability because he likes to get out of the pocket to make plays.

Another area he has tried to refine is his leadership skills. He has taken what he learned from Foley, Kline, Lovelace and others before him and is applying it.

“They were great leaders,” Floyd said. “They taught me a lot of things on and off the field. How to be a better person to the community. It’s a role that I’ve stepped into. They’re gone, so now I have to replace them. The younger kids look up to me just like we looked up to Braylan.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Leechburg