Putnam County senior Jermaine Nelson was born and raised in Jamaica but moved to the United States in 2017 and ended up in Eatonton. Now, just a few years later, Nelson is leaving with a high school diploma and a college scholarship to run track at South Georgia’s Thomas University.
Nelson, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound multi-sport athlete, signed his national letter of intent on May 15, with his mother and father by his side.
Nelson has been a standout for the War Eagles’ soccer team for the past four seasons; however, he started competing on the school’s track-and-field team over the past two years.
“I really didn’t think much of [track] at first, especially because I am a big soccer guy. I’ve been playing my entire life,” Nelson said. “So, truly it is cool [to sign a track scholarship], but I will always miss soccer. I am just better at the track, so I decided to go that route, but it worked out in the end.”
Nelson got “out of his comfort zone” and started running track in 2022 as a Putnam County junior. He was influenced by a soccer coach, who recognized Nelson’s speed would also be good for the track.
“He called me into his office and told the track coach about me. He’s been talking to me about this since my freshman year. I never listened but I finally did,” Nelson said. “Finally, I went out there.”
The Thomas University signee started working out with Gerald and Jalon Kilgore, who are now playing football at the collegiate level. He said he learned a lot from them as he started his new path in life.
Nelson was primarily a sprinter for Putnam County, running the 100and 200-meter sprint races. He also participated in several relays as a War Eagle, mainly 4x100- and 4x200-meter competitions.
Nelson excelled on the track as he qualified at the state level for the past two seasons. He did so in multiple races, but nothing was more important than helping the War Eagles place second overall in the 4x200-meter relay competition at the GHSA Class AA 2021-2022 state meet in Columbus.
In 2023, Nelson placed third in the 100-meter (10.91 seconds) and third in the 200-meter (22.56 seconds) races at the Region 4-AA meet, which qualified him for the Class AA sectionals meet. He also ran the last leg on the War Eagles’ 4x200-meter relay team that placed first at the region meet.
At sectionals, Nelson qualified for the state meet by placing sixth in the 100-meter race, in which he finished eighth. He also placed 12th overall in the preliminaries for the 200-meter competition at the state meet, although that result didn’t qualify him to run in the finals, which took place the next day.
Nelson did all this while maintaining a 3.7-grade point average in school and playing soccer at the same time, which impressed the coaches at Thomas University. It then led to his scholarship offer.
“I learned to balance a lot in high school, especially with track and soccer seasons being at the same time,” Nelson said. “It was rough for me, although I learned to battle through it and be tough.”
Nelson had several offers from other schools such as Brewton-Parker College and St. Andrews University, but ultimately had one “main reason” to choose to attend Thomas University.
“It really helped that three of my friends who played soccer with me – Marco Owenby, Brandon Reeves and Edwith Lopez - signed there,” Nelson said. “That was one of the main reasons I signed there.”
He said he also liked the proximity to home as Thomasville is only a few hour's drive from Eatonton, which gives him a chance to return to Putnam County and visit family whenever he wants.
Nelson hopes to room in a dorm with one of his soccer buddies during his freshman year and intends to major in the business field while enrolled at Thomas.
“I want to thank Tim Gilbert, who’s my travel [soccer] coach. He’s the one who got in touch with [Thomas University]. He’s friends with their soccer coach,” Nelson said. “That’s how I got in contact. I couldn’t have done it without his help and guidance. He was the one that turned me on to track.”
After college, Nelson wants to follow in the footsteps of Usain Bolt and be a professional sprinter.
“It’s going to take a lot, but I will do whatever it takes to get there,” he said. “Just do anything I can.”