JOSH JEWELL

Corbin senior Josh Jewell 

Josh Jewell has been around football all of his life and has been a Corbin Redhound since he was in the fourth grade. Fans of Corbin football watched Jewell on the sideline as a ball boy with cousin Matt. The two were going to be around football whether they liked it or not…that’s because their dads were Redhound football coaches, Jackie Jewell and Steve Jewell.

Josh said he couldn’t wait to play for the Redhounds when he was little. “It’s something you really can’t describe. It’s the greatest feeling,” he said in a recent interview.

He said he wanted to be remembered as “somebody that did the best that they could on the field or on the court.”

“I want to be remembered as a guy that played as hard I could to possibly help their team win,” he said.

If anyone remembers the night of August 19, 2011 in Winchester, then they know Jewell worked his butt off in a 39-29 loss to the George Rogers Clark Cardinals. Standing 5’6” and weighing 140 pounds, Jewell put his name in the Corbin history books with 17 catches for 167 yards. The 17 catches stand as the second best night by a receiver in Kentucky High School football history.

Jewell took a lot of hits that night, but he said he was prepared. “When you catch a pass and there is a 250-pound linebacker coming at you, you have to be ready to take the hit. You have to get back up after the hit. If you don’t you are probably not going to play anymore,” he said.

What has he enjoyed the most about playing football? “It’s the feeling you get whenever you do something that people don’t expect you do to,” he said. “Stepping on the field is an indescribable feeling that you get and that’s something I am going to miss a whole lot.”

Being around my family, my uncle, my dad and my cousins. We’ve been through everything together. It is just a special thing,” he said.

“It was a very enjoyable playing for my dad and uncle because we did them together,” he said. “But, when things got bad, they were on me and Matt a lot, but that comes with the territory of being a coach’s son, so we were both prepared for that and it really didn’t bother us that much.”

Jewell said he has two big moments while playing for the Redhounds that he will never forget and both were against GRC. “When I had all those catches against GRC that was something I will never forget, but I don’t think I will ever forget when we beat them this year (13-12) when we stopped them on the one-yard line,” he added.

“I don’t think I will ever forget that because that was something no one thought we were going to be able to do,” he said. “I was with all my friends and we did something no one thought we could do, it was crazy and a great moment.”

Not only is Jewell a star on the football field, he is one heck of a tennis player. Something he never thought of playing four years ago. “My sister (Jaclyn) started playing and I started hitting around with her. I started talking to Coach (Curt) and started going to tennis matches. It was fun and I started talking to the Freemans and got in with them. It started from there,” he said.

He admitted that tennis was harder for him then football “Because I had never played it and I was just starting tennis. I really had no ideal what tennis was and football, I had been around my whole life.”

“Tennis was a lot harder to pick up than football,” Jewell said. He said he felt he had some natural ability to be able to pick up tennis when he did.”

“When you play football you have that aggressive mentality and when you play tennis if you have that it leads to a little more winning. When you bring that to the tennis court things tend to go your way a little more often than not,” he said.

Jewell chose to play doubles in high school. He has partnered with Harrison Reedy, Anthony Warf and the last two years Seth Heiness. Playing doubles, you have to get used to your partner and Jewell has had that ability. “Seth is more of a ground stroker and I am the guy that is more at the net. When you are at the net, you need someone behind you that is going to hold down that part of court. Seth does that very well, he can knock the crap out of the ball,” Jewell said.

“Tennis is fun,” Jewell said. “You find yourself getting mad sometimes, but there is no thrill better than slamming the ball for the win or doing your part in winning a doubles’ match.”

Jewell’s playing days is over on the football field and his career as a Redhound tennis player are numbered, but he will never forget playing for CHS.

“Football is pride and tradition, like it says on the t-shirts and at the field house. We work harder than everybody else and we are expected to win,” Jewell said. “We are everybody’s Super Bowl. They want a piece of Corbin. That’s something not many people get to play with and get to play around, that mentality, that winning attitude. It’s just like everybody wants Corbin to lose and we refuse to let that happen.”

“I don’t know what my life would be like without sports,” he added. “It’s always been about sports so far. Even in the summer we were getting ready for football, spring is tennis and that’s how it is.”

Jewell has plans to attend Eastern Kentucky University and major in Construction Management.