One of the most prosperous regions of the country in the production of National Football League talent and Division I student-athletes has long been the South Florida region. For the past two seasons, the University of South Alabama football program has been a benefactor of that production. In his brief tenure with the program, senior wide receiver Jamarius Way has made his mark both on the field and in the Jaguar record books.

Born and raised near the southern tip of Florida, it was only natural for Way to become involved with the game at an early age.

"My dad always raised me with a football in my hand," Way noted. "When I was around the age of six, I started playing Pop Warner and just went from there."

Way sees his involvement with the game at such a young age as a benefit. "When you start something and do it for a long time, you're going to become good at it. It's like a mechanic who has known he wanted to be a mechanic for a long time. If you begin working on cars at a young age, you are going to get better at it the more you do it. Playing at a young age helped me get to this point."

Way also prepped at Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, Fla., which has produced NFL and Division I talents like Fred Taylor, Santonio Holmes, Ray McDonald, Travis Benjamin, Reidel Anthony and Kelvin Benjamin. Coming from such a talent-rich area can provide an element of pressure for most, but Way just used it as motivation.

Despite being in an area to churn out top-notch talent, there were obstacles for Way to overcome growing up.

"It had its good and its bad," Way said of the area he grew up in. "There was a lot of violence there, but you have to know how to separate yourself from certain things. I separated myself from that and chose to go the other route."

One thing that helped inspire Way to take a different direction was the success others had coming out of the region using sports, and more specifically football, as a path.

"It was good to be able to watch current NFL players play at my high school when I was young," Way said. "Growing up, I wanted to be like them. If you played football, you were always expected to reach this level just because of the talent level we had coming from there. Our soil and being able to play football is what we are known for.

"There was a high bar set."

One other person in Way's life also helped steer him in the right direction.

"He always stayed on me," Way said of his older brother Robert. "When I tried to take the wrong path and was hanging around people I shouldn't have been hanging around, he stayed on me whether it was him giving it to me the hard way or what not. He always helped me keep my head on right. I guess he saw something in me. He had it in his head from the time I was young that he was going to make me be as great as I was capable of being."

Despite now being one of the top receivers in the Sun Belt Conference and nation, Way was late arriving at the position having been a quarterback for much of his youth. He even played on the defensive side of the ball for his first couple of seasons at Glades Central. It wasn't until his junior season that he moved to wide out.

Reflecting back now, Way definitely has a preference to which side of the ball he's on.

"I don't miss playing defense. I'm more of an offensive guy. I like to score," Way said.

The transition to the new position though wasn't smooth initially.

"I had always wanted to be a quarterback, but because of my length in high school they put me out wide," Way said reflecting on the transition. "It wasn't because of running good routes, I was just a deep target. The first summer was a struggle for me because I didn't know how to run crisp routes; I couldn't get separation. Catching the ball and my speed were never a problem for me in high school, but the fundamentals of being a receiver was a struggle for me though. After the spring game, I developed a comfort level with the position and started making plays. I started getting a lot of attention from bigger schools."

Way had had a chance to make the transition quicker as the Glades Central coaches had wanted to move him up to varsity prior to his freshman season, but he chose to delay that move.

"I had a chance to be on varsity my freshman year, but I wanted to hang out with my friends and they didn't have the chance to play on varsity so I wanted to stay down with them on junior varsity," he explained. "I feel that if I had went ahead and got on varsity that they would have moved me to receiver earlier and it probably would have made me develop quicker. Because of that, it was a slow transition."

After eventually honing in on the fundamentals of the position, things became natural for Way and schools such as Ole Miss, Florida State, Kentucky, South Florida and Hawaii would come calling during the recruiting process.

However, Way's path to Division I would take a slight detour.

"Coming out of high school, I had a low ACT score and the bigger schools passed on me," Way said. "I was originally going to go to a school in Florida, but one of my teammates went to Ellsworth [Community College] in Iowa and told me about their program. After talking with my mom about it, I decided that was my best route. My coach at Ellsworth [Jesse Montalto] was a great coach and stuck with me. He taught me everything I needed to know about the game. He told me that I was going to get my degree and play at a Division I program."

At Ellsworth, Way played two seasons and was a first-team all-region and all-Iowa Community College Athletic Conference selection as a sophomore after recording 40 receptions for 594 yards and 11 touchdowns despite missing the last two games of the season. He ranked fifth in the National Junior College Athletic Association in touchdown catches, and was among the top 40 in receptions, receiving yards, receiving yards per game and yards per catch.

It was during his time at Ellsworth that South Alabama took notice of the 6-foot-4 receiver. Another Jaguar who had a story similar to Way's would be instrumental in helping South land Way.

"[Former South Alabama assistant] Coach [Bryant] Vincent visited me and told me about Gerald Everett [a two-time all-Sun Belt pick and a second-round draft pick of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams] and how we were both in the same boat," Way said. "He told me South Alabama would be a good fit for me and I trusted the process."

Way's arrival in Mobile was delayed a bit as he didn't arrive until shortly before the start of fall camp last as he finished up some coursework at Ellsworth.

"Arriving when I did kind of made me feel like I wasn't going to have a chance because I wasn't familiar with the offense, but at the same time it made me hungry and want to compete," Way said about coming in so late. "I just knew that if I could get the plays down, I shouldn't have a problem playing. I felt like I could help the team be better. I stuck with it, prayed about it and talked with my mom. The coaches told me to not worry about that and just go have fun out there, and everything else would speak for itself. A little before the end of fall camp, I was named a starter."

Way's impact was almost immediate as his first catch was a touchdown at Ole Miss in the Jags' season opener; the 30-yard reception tied the game with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter. The play would align him with Everett again as Way became the first South player to have their first reception with the program go for a score since Everett's 50-yard touchdown catch in the 2015 season opener against Gardner-Webb.

"Cole [Garvin] told me before the play that he was going to throw it at me," Way said. "He gave me a shot and I saw the ball. [Former South Alabama quarterback] Dallas [Davis] had always told me that when the ball was in the air that it was mine. I had that in the back of my head."

Just going up and getting the ball wasn't hard for Way to do as all he had to do was refer to his twitter handle @ThrowItUpTo3.

"It's my mindset out on the field," Way said. "If our quarterback is under pressure, all he has to do is he just has to throw it up to '3' and if it's in range, I'm going to be there. That's all there is to it."

In his first season with the Jaguars, Way led the club with 47 receptions for 762 yards, three touchdown receptions and 799 all-purpose yards en route to picking up second-team all-league honors. He was tied for third on the team in scoring, ranked seventh in the Sun Belt and among the top 75 in the country with 63.50 receiving yards per game. Way also ended the campaign among the top 10 on the school season record list in catches (sixth), yards receiving (third), yards per reception (16.21, seventh) and 100-yard receiving games (two, tied for second), while tying for the team lead with 11 plays of 20-plus yards, which included a squad-best three touchdowns of over 20 yards. Way also caught multiple passes in all but one game.

Even with the strong showing during his first year in a Jag uniform, Way still saw room for improvement.

"I felt I played good, but there is always room to get better," Way said. "When I go back and watch film, I see that there were things I could have done better like holding a block longer, making a cut at a certain time."

After his own evaluation, Way set out to improve in certain areas heading into his final season.

"Consistently catching the ball, consistently making big plays. I wanted to be a leader," Way said of what he wanted to work on during the offseason. "I wanted to take on the role that Jeremy [Reaves] had with us last year. I wanted to be the person that if we needed a play to happen, everyone would know that I would come through for them. I came out in the spring and competed, and Coach [Steve] Campbell gave me and Bull Barge a chance to take on that role."

So what did Way take away from Reaves from a leadership standpoint?

"It wasn't really from a vocal standpoint, but rather showing it out on the field," Way said. "Just letting your teammates know that I've got their back and they've got mine. When we are on the field, we play for each other. I'm going to give you my all and you're going to give me your all."

That leadership role has been noted by the coaching staff and players, especially within the wide receiver unit with the younger talent.

"Jamarius is a really good teammate; he's always encouraging everyone," South Alabama wide receivers coach Pete Bennett said. "The way that he prepares himself and carries himself is something that the other guys see. Just him doing the little things that we coach him to do is something the other guys feed off of, they know that if they want to get to the next left that's how they need to be."

One young receiver has also taken note of Way's performance.

"Jamarius always comes to practice with a positive attitude and leads the younger guys," redshirt freshman wide receiver Jalen Tolbert said. "He tells us to finish the play, to catch the ball and look it into the tuck, run full speed and make great plays because that's the type of stuff you need to be able to compete at this level. We are able to feed off of his attitude."

Coming off the stellar first season, expectations were high for Way; he was a preseason first-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection by Lindy's and Street & Smith's, receiving second-team preseason all-league honors from the conference coaches as well as Athlon Sports and Phil Steele Publications. Way was also named to the Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List, which annually recognizes the outstanding NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision receiver in college football, and the Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List over the summer.

To the casual observer, the opening of the 2018 season might not have gotten off to the start that some would have expected for Way as he accumulated just seven catches for 79 yards and no touchdowns through the first two weeks. However, in those two contests the game-plan wasn't geared as much for Way to put up big numbers against the expected defensive schemes of Louisiana Tech and Oklahoma State.

Following the game against the Cowboys, things would change for Way.

"The Sunday after the Oklahoma State game, we saw that [Texas State] was a man-to-man [defensive] team and that's where you go wrong against our receivers," Way said. "We feel like we are going to have a big day against that type of defense, regardless of who it is. Evan [Orth] came up to me before the game and told me to be ready. I was ready. Memphis played the same type of defense the next week that we see in practice every day."

In a 41-31 victory over Texas State, Way set a school record with 11 receptions and came close to eclipsing another with 173 receiving yards. Way's big night was also highlighted by receptions of 64 and 58 yards, plus an 18-yard touchdown in the final minute that secured South Alabama's 15-point fourth-quarter comeback victory.

His next time out, Way recorded his second straight 100-yard game, posting game-high totals in both catches (10) and yards (185), setting a career high in the latter category for the second week in a row, to go along with a touchdown.

Heading into South's homecoming game against ULM, Way leads the team with 46 receptions and 624 yards receiving, and his four touchdown receptions also top the Jaguars.

With three games remaining in the regular season, Way ranks among the program leaders in five different career categories. He is just 302 yards shy of surpassing Shavarez Smith's yards receiving mark and his four 100-yard games are two shy of matching Josh Magee's program standard.

"I've only been here about a year-and-a-half, so for me to be able to reach some of those records would mean so much to me because I was able to accomplish that in a short span of time," Way said.

Despite several of the individual marks being within reach, there are two more goals that Way has his eyes set on, the first being on how he and the rest of his teammates close out the 2018 season.

"I just want to win out," Way stated. "We need to take it one game at a time and do everything we can do."

Way also wants to add his name to the list of talent that has reached the next level as he will prepare and train for the upcoming NFL Draft in the spring.

"This is what I did it for when I was six," Way said of the importance of adding his name. "This is what all this time comes back to. It would be very hurtful for me to go out there and put in as much time as I have and not be able to get a chance."

South Alabama head coach Steve Campbell believes all the pieces are in place for Way to accomplish that goal and the leadership he's shown this season will also help him.

"Jamarius is a big, physical wide receiver who's got all the physical tools to be successful at that level," Campbell said. "He's a hard worker. A lot of skill guys aren't used to bringing that physical mentality and work ethic, but Jamarius has brought a great work ethic and attitude to practice every day, and I've been really proud of that because I've challenged him in that area."

With the numbers he has put up during his two-year Jaguar career and the skills that he has displayed, Way should have definitely have a chance to join that elite hometown club.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSout_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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