PHOTOS: CdM football keeps Jack Elliott’s legacy alive with presentation of Character Award

Jake Simkins (left) was the second recipient of the Jack Elliott Character Award and was joined by last season’s winner Jack Johnston on Thursday. (Photos: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone)

Former Corona del Mar High School cornerback Jack Elliott left a legacy among football coaches, former teammates and classmates and all who knew about him before he passed away in 2019 while attending college.

Elliott, known as a hard worker and a tremendous leader who helped many, now has an annual award called the Jack Elliott Character Award named in his honor. The award “embodies strong character and a commitment to his team,” CdM officials said.

“We want to keep the wonderful memory of Jack Elliott alive every day here at Corona del Mar football,” Head Coach Dan O’Shea said Thursday during a ceremony at the new CdM Athletic Complex which followed the annual intra-squad game.

The latest recipient, Jake Simkins, a senior cornerback on this year’s Sea King team, was honored Thursday and was presented the award. Also honored was last year’s winner, strong safety Jack Johnston. Each player received a $1,000 scholarship.

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After playing football at CdM, Elliott attended school at Texas Christian University where he was majoring in business but not playing football. Elliott died in 2019 just two months into the school year, his father Brett Elliott said.

“It was a boating accident,” his father said.

But after his death, Elliott’s impact was clearly evident to the family.

“We’ve come to understand (from) teachers he had the impact he had not only on the football team but students and kids and teachers in the community and that is one of the blessings in this horrible tragedy is that we’ve learned what an amazing person Jack was and that’s why we wanted to do this because that was revealed through all of this tragedy of how many people loved him and how many people’s hearts he touched,” his father said in an interview after the ceremony.

“Even down at TCU, he was only there for two months, we had dozens of kids and even kids parents from TCU reach out to us and say, ‘your son made an impact on our son or daughter in just two short months at TCU.’ He had that affect on people and he made people feel important.”

O’Shea talked about what character means and said that Elliott had all those qualities.

“It’s somebody who is loyal, honest and especially in this football program, willing to give up the interests of their own for the good of the group,” he said. “The epitome of our football program was Jack Elliott, he defined that.”

O’Shea reflected on a story that Elliott’s father told about O’Shea challenging Elliott to get better early in his career at CdM.

“We were pushing him and challenging him and he reacted the right way,” O’Shea said. “He didn’t pout or cry about it, he went out and competed and got better and every one of you at some juncture are going to be in that same place. We’re going to challenge you and we want to see how you react.”

O’Shea said Johnston, who has donated his scholarship to a local charity, was the perfect athlete to receive the award for the first time.

“It was an incredible honor on behalf of our coaching staff, the first recipient of the Jack Elliott Character Award under a wild football season with COVID and everything else was Jack Johnston, and he embodied it,” O’Shea said.

Johnston also praised Elliott and talked about the impact he had on him.

“I’ve known Jack growing up but seeing him as a teammate has been an amazing experience that I will never forget,” he said. “I was injured my sophomore year while Jack was a senior. It was hard for me and it helped a lot that a lot of the seniors, including Jack, were always there for me, joking around on the sidelines and made me feel included in the team even though I was out the entire season. Wearing the number two has been amazing these past two years, it was an honor to represent it and wear it with pride.”

O’Shea told guests Thursday that every year a jersey which will include Elliott’s number two will be transferred to another player in memory of Elliott and a scholarship be given.

O’Shea said Simkins was a perfect player to receive the award this year.

“Although he was not considered an impact player early in his career, he kept working and working and working and gaining the trust and respect of not only his coaches but more importantly his teammates,” O’Shea said.

“He ended up starting his freshman year and has not been kept off the field ever since. He grew in height and weight and worked so hard in the weightroom to gain strength. It transformed him into one of the best football players in our 2021 football program. He is a man of high character and that character never wavered when challenged with some tough decisions that today’s young men need to make.

“There are a lot of obvious reasons why this young man has had success on and off the field: wonderful parents, a strong friend group and a supportive community and this yoiung man has taken advantage of this great foundation and continues to make great choices in his behavior and actions.”

After O’Shea’s talk, Johnston then handed the number two jersey to Simkins, who talked about the impact that Elliott had on him.

“I’m more than honored to get this award and I’m just so priviledged to have known Jack,” Simkins said. “He’s always been so kind, a mentor, a big brother figure. He’s only helped me in life and he’s a big reason why I play football and he just made it a good experience for me. I will always remember this and honor this number in his legacy.”

Scott Brown, president of the CdM Football Booster Club and Jeff Fisher, a long-time family friend who also had a son play football at CdM, talked about how the outstanding qualities Elliott had and the example he set for other players.

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com