The Daily Hatch

In a friendly game of keep away, Barrett Jones demonstrates why he is a formidable opponent on the football field. The mission team he led in Nicaragua visited several schools to share the love of Christ with the children. Special to the Courier

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I have written about Barrett Jones several times before in 2011 and 2012 and today’s article in the 1-12-13 issue of the Saline Courier.

ECS graduate Barrett Jones, right, now an offensive lineman at Alabama, spent his spring break with teammate Hardie Buck lending a helping hand in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

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This year like many years in the past I made the trip down to War Memorial to see the Salt Bowl between the Benton Panthers and the Bryant Hornets. Again this year over 20,000 people gathered to see this high school football game. Many doubted the crowd would be that big this year since the game was moved to the 4th week of the football season, but the naysayers were wrong. The Saline County shootout drew another huge crowd. That is what I call having a passion for football.

Football is a great game to learn life lessons from and many in Saline County have benefitted from the coaching they have received from many fine football coaches on the high school level that truly care about the lives of their young men. Maybe that is part of the reason we are so passionate about this game of football.

I heard Bryant’s Shane Broadway tell Benton’s Grant Merrill on the radio on Jan 7th he attended the recent Benton v. Bryant basketball game, but he just was not ready for basketball yet since he was still so into football mode. Many people across the country feel the same way.

I grew up in Memphis with a good friend of mine who was passionate about football. Actually he was a Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan. Once he got a driver license he took off at least once a year and drove to South Bend and attempted to buy a ticket outside the stadium for a football game to see his beloved team play. He has been able to see Notre Dame play in person every year since 1978. Now that is what I call having a passion for football.

Let me now tell you about my other longtime Notre Dame Fighting Irish friends. Tim, Pat and Jim Monahan are brothers, and have been running Monahan Inc of Arcola, Illinois for many years. They sell handles and broomcorn, and since at Little Rock Broom Works we need those items to make brooms, we have been a customer of theirs for many years.

Two of Tim’s sons have actually played football for Notre Dame. Both fit the “Rudy” description. Out of high school they received many offers to play at the small college level, but they chose to walk-on at Notre Dame. Tom Monahan got some playing time his senior year as a blocking back in 1986, and Mark Monahan did the same as a defensive back in 1995. Former Arkansas Coach Lou Holtz coached both players.

Why did they walk on at Notre Dame? Probably it had something to do with how far back the Monahan family goes with the Fighting Irish. These boys’ grandfather Tom Monahan played for Knute Rockne from 1928 to 1931.

The Monahan’s still have in their possession a letter dated August 2, 1929 from Rockne encouraging Monahan to put on 10 to 15 lbs. He went on to write, “I think you have the potentialities to make a good center with a little more experience, and you will get that this fall.” Unfortunately,  Rockne’s life was cut short at age 43 in a plane crash in 1931.

Lou Holtz gave Arkansas some great years as the Razorback Football Coach from 1977 to 1983. Actually I got to see Holtz coach several times at the tale end of that span and I have had season tickets to the football games since 1984. In fact, the 2011 season when the Hogs finished ranked #5 was the first time since 1977 that the Razorbacks finished in the top 5. The final poll at the end of the 1977 season had the Irish #1 and the Hogs #3. It took us 34 years to achieve that get back to that level.

Arkansas has had someone  involved in the national races though. Gus Malzahn who played football at Henderson State with Bryant’s head coach Paul Calley was the offensive coordinator at Auburn during their national championship run in 2010.

During this year’s National Championship game as a Razorback fan it was hard to pull for a SEC West competitor like Alabama, but I do have a connection through my family this year to Alabama. My father’s good friend Harry Smith has two grandsons playing for Alabama. Barrett Jones (#75) is the reigning Outland Trophy winner and his brother Harrison (#82) is a sophomore. Their younger brother Walker is a senior at Evangelical Christian School (ECS) where I graduated from high school, and he is also committed to play for the Tide next year.

So far the Jones brothers have 5 national championship rings between them. Furthermore, Harrison still has two years to play and Walker is just showing up on campus in August of 2013.

My son Wilson and I got to visit with Rex Jones at the halftime of the Arkansas- Alabama game in Fayetteville in September of 2012. Both of his sons were playing a great game that day as the Hogs got slammed 52-0. I am hopeful the Hogs are more competitive in 2013.

It is truly a small world after all. Several years ago my son Wilson met the Luciens at Fellowship Bible Church where we are members. They are a family that live  and serve as missionaries in Hatti,  but they do get to spend a couple of months each year back here in Arkansas. Recently Wilson and several of his friends went to a movie together and Lydia Lucien told Wilson that Barrett Jones has come the last two years to their village in Hatti to help with their mission projects.

Barrett Jones reminds me of Tim Tebow. Jones noted, “I don’t want to be known as a football player who happens to be a Christian, I want to be known as a Christian who happens to play football.”

The Baptist Press reported in April of 2012:
Jones organized and led a team of 31 of his friends and family members on a mission trip to Jinotega, Nicaragua, during his spring break, March 11-16.

The team participated in several nightly revival services at Shalom Baptist Church in Jinotega and visited three public schools and an orphanage. At each location, they gave their personal testimonies, presented the Gospel story and interacted with the children by playing sports and games and simply reflecting God’s love.

The 21-year-old Jones made his priorities in his testimony at the revival service at Shalom Baptist on March 13.

“Tonight, I want to talk to you a little bit about what I’m really passionate about,” he told the crowd, “and that’s not football — it’s Jesus Christ.”

We know that football is a great game, but making differences in people’s lives is even better. I will be pulling for Barrett in the big game of life, but as a Hog fan I hope my Razorbacks give his brothers a tougher battle than we have recently.

Everette Hatcher is a regular contributor to The Saline Courier. He is the fourth generation in his family to work in the broom manufacturing business. Everette and his wife Jill have four children and live in Shannon Hills.

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Barrett Jones for Heisman? Part 4

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The secret of Bama’s success is not their great running backs but their great offensive line. Sadly I saw my Hogs get beaten  52-0 to Bama and it seemed that the Tide liked running up the middle behind the center Barrett Jones, and I must say that  Jones is deserving of consideration of the Heisman Trophy. […]

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Link to this photo

Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron celebrates with offensive linesman Barrett Jones as the clock winds down. — Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 7, 2013

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September 24, 2011 – 8:21 am

Today I am starting a new series called “Christians in Athletics.”  Barrett Jones grew up under the ministry of Adrian Rogers at Bellevue. Below is a clip from the Memorial Service for Dr. Rogers.   Barrett Jones of Alabama Crimson Tide has spent time the last two years ministering to earthquake victims in Haiti. Actually […]

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Bama’s star lineman Barrett Jones puts ministry first

September 23, 2011 – 3:14 pm

Barrett Jones of Alabama Crimson Tide has spent time the last two years ministering to earthquake victims in Haiti. (Barrett grew up and went to ECS where I graduated and to Bellevue Baptist where I was a member while growing up. Adrian Rogers was the pastor from 1972 to 2004.) Actually I wrote about Barrett’s […]

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Alabama head coach Nick Saban is dunked with Gatorade in the final seconds of the BCS National Championship college football game against Notre Dame Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, in Miami. Alabama won 42-14. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)