Meet Stanford Fullback Recruit Jay Symonds Jr.

On the early National Signing Day in December, Stanford signed its next fullback - Jay Symonds Jr. He’s a 3-star recruit who was originally committed to Pittsburgh to play tight end. The 6-foot-4, 257-pounder earned his offer after sending his highlights to Mike Bloomgren through Twitter.

Tell me about yourself.

I’m a senior at Buckingham Browne & Nichols, a private school in Cambridge, MA. I live in Melrose, MA. All my life, I’ve played football. I started varsity football since 8th grade. I played baseball and lacrosse when I was younger and basketball until last year. I like drawing and creative writing. I want to go into pediatric medicine, possibly major in Human Biology at Stanford.

What lead you to choose Stanford for FB over Pittsburgh for TE?

The Stanford offense fits my skill set and my versatility. It’s also the best university in the world. The combination of great academics, great coaches in Coach Gould, Coach Pritchard and Coach Shaw and a pro-style offense made it the perfect fit.

What led you to play fullback over TE/WR/DE?

Would you consider a position change at Stanford? I’ve been recruited as a receiving fullback, a Ryan Hewitt type H-back/Fullback. My size and versatility make it a great position for me.

What was the moment that really made you decide to choose Stanford?

Coach Gould was a really big part of it. He’s been very honest and straightforward with me and my family throughout the entire process. And he’s coached some great running backs in his career and still is with Bryce Love. I really felt comfortable with him and really look forward to learning as much as I can from him.

What made you consider medicine as a career?

My mom is a labor delivery nurse and I’ve always just been really interested in medicine. And my grandmother runs a daycare and I volunteer at my local YMCA daycare so I’ve always enjoyed being around kids and helping them. So it really just kind of seemed natural to combine the two and pursue a career in pediatric medicine.

What was going through your mind when you sent your career highlights over Twitter?

I felt really confident. It’s tough to pick plays and cut it down to just a certain number but I went through it a bunch of times with my dad and felt really good about the plays I was sending.

What were you feeling when you played with a collapsed lung?

I felt out of breath, like I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs. And my ribs wore sore from the hit. But it was a big rival of ours so I just pushed through it and tried to block it out of my mind and stay focused on the game. It happened in the first quarter but I actually ended up having one of my best games of the season with about 130 yards receiving, 3 TDs and a couple sacks on defense. Spending two days in the hospital afterward was pretty scary though.

How’s your recovery coming along?

I’m completely fine. Working out at 100%.

What do you do for fun?

I’m a big gamer. I’m always on my Xbox. I play Call of Duty, Skyrim and Fortnite