At a time when the Boston sports world is trying to regain it’s footing, with Tom Brady having seemingly taken the city’s championship mojo to Tampa, it seems another part of Florida, the Jacksonville area, is trying to replenish ranks and restore the luster.
First it was Mac Jones, national champion at Alabama, drafted in the first round by the New England Patriots to be the future at quarterback. Then sophomore catcher Nathan Hickey out of the University of Florida in the fifth round of last week’s Major League Baseball Draft.
In addition to being part of the future of Boston sports, Jones and Hickey were also teammates at one point, in the Pop Warner system under coach Eric Yost, who can’t believe two of his players end up in the same sports obsessed town.
“How in the heck did two of our kids end up in Boston?" Yost asks while laughing proudly. “Two quarterbacks in the Boston area? Unreal.”
According to Yost, Hickey was in the Mandarin Athletic Association for three seasons. While Jones has been a QB his whole life, Hickey actually played linebacker and defensive end mostly.
Said Yost of the new Red Sox prospect, “He’s a tough kid. Him and my son were the two arm wrestlers, and they beat everyone on the team.”
As for how Hickey joined Jones in the ranks of signal caller, it’s the kind of story that speaks to both The Patriot Way and the positional versatility that’s become a hallmark of the 2021 Red Sox.
“We got stuck at the end of a year," Yost remembered. "We lost our quarterback before the championship game. We were scrambling, coaches and I got to talking, then I thought, 'Hey, Nathan can throw it! He’s cool under pressure. He can do it.'”
Yost put Hickey under center in the title game, had him game manage, with a heavy focus on the run game. Hickey was efficient, and the Tigers won the Pop Warner title, 14-12.
While teammates for two Pop Warner seasons, Yost said Jones and Hickey never forged a strong bond or had memorable clashes. “They knew each other but weren’t buddy-buddy or anything.” As for what Hickey’s baseball skills are like, Yost added, “Baseball is his first love. His dad played ball. It’s in his family. And he can rake it. Nadar can catch, play third, outfield. ... Wherever they need him he’ll play.”
Nadar?
“Yeah, his mom calls him that. He was always her little Nadar.”
Seems like the Red Sox might have found a very Boston kind of athlete in Nadar, who likely will start in the pros well after his former teammate, Mac Jones. Time will tell if Hickey stays behind the late or switches positions, as the MLB.com draft profile suggests. Whatever the case, wherever he plays, expectations will be high for both, especially for Jones, given their pedigree, talent and because this is Boston. Yet oddly enough it’s their Pop Warner coach Yost who helped guide them, who despite their success, and that of his teams, is the hardest on himself.
“Man, look at all the talent we had! We should have done better than we did," Yost said with a chuckle. "Maybe the coaching was bad.”