Don't Blink: Alexandria Senior High tailback J.T. Lindsey taking fast track to the end zone
ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA - Since Thomas Bachman took over as football coach at Alexandria Senior High in 2016, he has had his share of great running backs.
Trojans junior J.T. Lindsey appears to be the next one on the list after getting off to a great start as the lead back for the offense this season.
“He has worked his butt off behind the scenes,” Bachman said. “I expect to see a whole lot more of it as we continue this thing for the next two years.”
In last week's game against Natchitoches Central, Lindsey rushed for 126 yards and four touchdowns as ASH earned its first win of the season and has accounted for over 100 total yards each game thus far.
Lindsey showed flashes of that potential during his first two seasons as ASH’s change-of-pace guy in the backfield, which allowed Texas State to offer him in June.
As a freshman in 2021, one of his highlights was rushing for 130 yards and three touchdowns against West Ouachita during a spot start. However, serving as the backup behind Jarvis Newton and Datlan Cunningham meant those games would come every so often unless the game was out of reach.
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Fast forward to this season. Lindsey is now the lead guy in the Trojans’ backfield and is making his presence felt consistently.
Despite a loss to defending Division II select champion St. Thomas More in Week 2, Lindsey rushed for a season-high 144 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’ve been working to show everybody what I’ve been working towards and what I’ve been capable of,” Lindsey said.
A two-sport star, Lindsey credits track as a big boost to his development in football.
Since his freshman year, Lindsey has been one of the area’s best in the 100 meters – placing second in district and fifth in regionals last season.
Alexandria Senior High tailback J.T. Lindsey
Because of his personal bests of 4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 10.85 seconds in the 100 meters, he has been given the name “Quick Six."
“My track coach (SeDarrin Freeman) and my trainers worked me into doing this,” Lindsey said. “I’ve been doing track during the summer and it translates to the football field."
While his speed has always been there, it has allowed him to work on his strength in hitting the holes and breaking tackles.
“He’ll continue to progress because it’s something that’s intrinsic for him,” Bachman said. “He is motivated and his mom holds him to a high standard in the classroom.
"Every area of his life there’s discipline, and he owes a lot to his mother and what she’s invested into him.”
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Currently, Lindsey has a 3.0 grade point average, which is a testament to the measure of success that his mother, Kendra, has placed on him.
That standard is simple – anything less than A’s and B’s are unacceptable if he wants to play and participate in sports.
“If I get a C, (she pulls me) off the football team and I have to sit out a little bit,” Lindsey said. “She’s really hard (toward) me, but she’s building me to be a better man and a better player so I can start picking my colleges.”
While Texas State was one of the first to offer Lindsey in June, others have shown interest such as Louisiana Tech, Tulane, Mississippi State and the University of Louisiana.
Photo of Alexandria Senior High tailback J.T. Lindsey from his Twitter page
-- LaMar Gafford | @SBLiveLA
