By Robert Wilson
Madison-Ridgeland Academy junior offensive lineman Caleb Unger hasn’t decided where he is playing college football yet, but MRA coach Herbert Davis believes that school will get a player with a lot of talent.
Two-time defending MAIS Class 6A state champion Hartfield Academy found out Friday night.
The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Unger led MRA’s offensive line as he and his teammates opened holes as the Patriots’ running backs produced 303 rushing yards in a 49-21 victory over Hartfield before an estimated 3,500 at Hartfield’s Community Bank Field in Flowood.
For his outstanding performance, Unger has been named the Junction Deli/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Football Player of the Week.
MRA’s win over Hartfield was the first meeting of the Big 4 of the MAIS (MRA, Hartfield, Jackson Academy, and Jackson Prep) and avenged MRA’s 17-14 loss to Hartfield in the 6A state semifinals last season at MRA.
“Caleb is very hard working and a great leader for our team,” Davis said. “He genuinely cares for other people and his teammates. He does things the right way. Caleb has great feet. He’s strong and athletic. He played some as an eighth grader and this is his third year to start. I believe he will play center in college. Caleb isn’t as tall, but he is as good as Saahdiq Charles was high school (Charles played on LSU’s 2019 national championship team and was a fourth round pick in 2020 by the Washington Redskins).”
“Caleb is a genuine person,” MRA offensive line coach Kenny Williams said. “He is kind and cares for people. Caleb is leading by example. You can look up and see him treating kids to elders with respect and kindness. There have been a lot of colleges that have told him he is too short. Caleb is motivated to prove everyone wrong. He comes to work every day to get better. Caleb loves to compete on high level.”
Unger opened holes for sophomore running back Colson O’Cain and senior Jaxon Jenkins. O’Cain had 144 yards on 14 carries and five touchdowns and Jenkins had 133 yards on 23 carries.
Unger is a member of the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team. He was a first team offensive lineman and helped MRA to a 9-3 record last season as a sophomore. He was one of four sophomores on the 25-player first team.
Unger is rated the No. 11 player in Mississippi and No. 23 inside offensive lineman in the country by 247 Sports.
He has 20 Division I offers, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley, LSU, Baylor, Colorado, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Oregon, Arkansas State, Central Arkansas, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville State, Liberty, Memphis, South Alabama, South Florida and Tulane.
This is the second time in two seasons that Unger has been the Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Week.
Unger led MRA’s offensive line as the Patriots had 498 total yards and defeated defending MHSAA Class 7A state champion Oak Grove 51-13 last year at MRA. It was the most points Oak Grove had given up in 15 seasons.
MRA had 389 total yards in the first half and led 41-13 at halftime. The Patriots scored in the first minute of the second half and there was a running clock for the rest of the game.
Unger is the son of Conesha Coleman and Luther Unger. Conesha attended Louisville High and played the clarinet and was a flag girl. Luther attended McAdams High. Unger has many aunts and uncles who played sports at McAdams and Louisville High Schools. Unger’s cousin Deandre’ Eiland played football and track and field at Tupelo High and South Carolina. Eiland was a sixth-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2004. He played for the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams and Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe.
MRA, 2-1, plays at Collierville, Tenn. High Friday night at Collierville, a suburb of Memphis. Collierville has a 2-1 record, losing to MHSAA Class 7A Oxford 39-36 in overtime and beating MHSAA Class 7A Horn Lake 39-35. Collierville finished 11-2 last season.
Mississippi Scoreboard selects a player from a school from Hinds, Madison or Rankin Counties each week during the season. Coaches can nominate a player by texting Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
WEEK ONE: Gage Crapps, East Rankin Academy
WEEK TWO: Knolyn Bryce Archie Bailey, Lanier
