The Watchman’s Male Athlete of the Year: Carthage’s Jett Surratt silences the naysayers

Published 3:23 pm Thursday, July 24, 2025

Jett Surratt is someone that puts his teammate and their accomplishments and speaks highly of them before ever mentioning anything about himself.

In a year where Surratt helped lead the Carthage Bulldogs football team to a record setting 10th state championship, Surratt also was the lone Panola County golfer to qualify for the state tournament.

Through Surratt’s hard work — so much of goes unseen — and his on the field and on the course accomplishments, the incoming senior can now add one more accolade.

Surratt is your 2024-25 Panola Watchman Male Athlete of the Year.

“It’s a blessing and I’m honored to be able to receive this,” Surratt said. “Hopefully we can do the same thing next year. I feel like we can improve a lot next year and do the same thing again.

The quarterback threw for 3,378 yards and 53 touchdowns in leading Carthage to a 15-1 record en route to the 4A Division II state championship where Surratt also threw for a pair of touchdowns in Carthage’s 28-14 victory over Waco La Vega.

That victory propelled his dad and coach Scott Surratt to become the winningest UIL head football coach in history as it was state title No. 10 for Surratt with all 10 coming at Carthage.

“It was unbelievable, I was on top of the world,” Surratt said. “Nothing could bring me down, it was an unbelievable feeling.”

Of Carthage’s 16 games played, Jett only played in three fourth quarters the entire season because the Bulldogs had built up such big leads.

On the golf course Jett was the lone state qualifier in the county and did so battling a severe and lingering shoulder injury that required surgery shortly after the season was complete.

“It’s a great award because we have some great athletes not only on this team but in the whole area,” Coach Surratt said. “To be named Male Athlete of the Year is very special. He won state in football and qualified for state in golf. He and we are looking to do better things this year.”

Adversity and Injuries

Jett’s memorable year started and almost took a deep noise dive just minutes before kickoff against Kilgore when he suffered a severe ankle sprain. Surratt was jumping into teammates and getting hyped like has since he was playing youth football when suddenly he came down wrong.

The ankle looked to be the size of a baseball before Surratt was carted away to get it further examined.

Upon first glance seemed it was the worst case scenario.

“Honestly I went over there and thought it was broke,” Coach Surratt said. “It looked absolutely awful and he looked at me and said ‘He was playing.’”

Jett insisted against the advice of the Carthage training staff and coaching staff to give it a go and while Carthage did end up on the short end of a 20-15 loss to a Kilgore team that would make it all the way to the 4A-DI state title game, the amount of respect Jett earned by playing was second to none.

Jett was out there practically on one leg and couldn’t take a snap from under center which limited Carthage’s playbook immensely and you factor in facing the best defense Carthage would face all season, it was a long night to say the least.

“Unfortunately he wasn’t himself but he played through it,” Coach Surratt said. “He got a lot of respect not only from me but from all of his teammates. He gave it all that he got. Should we have played him? I don’t know but he would not allow me not to play him, that’s the deal.”

Behind the scenes Jett was obviously rehabbing an ankle sprain that turned the color purple and had risen through the top of his Achilles, but also his throwing shoulder after suffering a labrum tear prior to his sophomore year.

Jett never made any excuses or brought up either injury at all, he simply played through it.

After Carthage’s Week 2 bye week which turned into being a blessing in disguise, Surratt — who wasn’t cleared until that Wednesday — started against Liberty-Eylau in Week 3 and while clearly not 100% still went out and balled out.

Carthage destroyed Liberty Eylau 58-20 in Texarkana, as Jett threw for 173 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-18 passing in less than three full quarters of play.

Following the game Jett said he did everything he could do to play in the opener because he knew his dad would’ve done the same thing.

“I’m trying to get him to do smarter things,” Coach Surratt joked. “But the regimen of his rehab was like 20 minutes of ice then stretch and had to get the swelling out. Then we were worried about his Achilles because it started bruising up the back of his Achilles. It was a lot of things but (head athletic trainer Kristin) Croley is magic and she did a phenomenal job.”

Tuning out the critics

If Jett’s talents weren’t enough, his ability to focus on the task at hand and tune out what people say about him are that of professional level.

In the aftermath of Carthage’s 20-15 loss to Kilgore, Jett was roasted on social media as many blamed the loss entirely on him which was really unfair.

Little did people know was just how injured he was coming into the game not only the ankle but his throwing arm.

The comments were disgusting for that of a professional athlete or public figure, let alone a 16-year-old kid who did everything is his power just to be able to play, knowing he would be a shell of his normal self.

As if Jett didn’t have to deal with enough with just the injuries Carthage losing their first home game in nearly eight years added to the social media hate.

“The people talking on the outside are just talkers,” Surratt said. “I’ve always thought that if they could do it they would be doing it themselves. They are just talking to talk so no point in worrying about that.”

The incoming senior is on social media but is quick about brushing off the negativity.

“If I see a negative comment I usually just laugh about it,” Surratt said. “I think it’s pretty funny honestly.”

Coach Surratt took his coaching hat off and praised his son for being able to tune out the hate while crediting his wife Summer for the type of person Jett is.

“His mom has done a great job,” Coach Surratt said. “We talk to him and we talk to our players and we call it ink poisoning. To read stuff especially negative stuff, guys that write negative stuff probably didn’t play and don’t understand athletics or injuries.”

Fast forward five months and just as Jett was finishing up his postgame interviews after Carthage won state title No. 10 at AT&T Stadium, he went and shuck hands with many of the Kilgore players and wished them luck prior to the 4A-DI title game against Celina.

Never once from Week 1 on did Jett speak negatively about the critics he instead just went out and did his job before ultimately being pulled from a game because Carthage had built up such a big lead.

“Instead of celebrating he wanted to talk to those guys and wish them luck,” Coach Surratt said. “That’s what tells you what kind of person that he is. When the game was over we congratulated Kilgore they are a great football team and we didn’t make any excuses.

“We knew we had work to do and we got it done.”

The best is yet to come?

After having much needed offseason shoulder surgery Surratt will be coming into his senior season stronger than he’s ever been.

Not just from a physical standpoint but his arm will be the strongest it’s been since he was a freshman that could barely see over Carthage’s offensive line while throwing cameo touchdown passes during the Bulldogs’ run to the 2022 4A-DII state title.

“I’m pretty far ahead of schedule,” Surratt said. “I’m pretty religious about rehab and I’ve been going to that quite a bit. It’s been progressing good.”

Coach Surratt mentioned that from Week 8 through the state championship game Jett was put on a de facto pitch count to save his throwing arm.

The incoming senior who is expected back by opening week will be better simply because he can be actually gets to practice.

“He’s going to play better because he’s going to practice more,” Coach Surratt said. “What people don’t know is he threw a little bit on Monday, a little bit on Tuesday then Wednesday he didn’t throw, Thursday he didn’t throw and pregame he didn’t throw.

“It’s pretty hard to be a starting quarterback and you’re watching your buddies throw it at AT&T Stadium and you can’t even throw in pregame because you’re waiting for the throws in the game.”

With a state championship under his belt as leader of the Bulldogs, Surratt says the pressure to win isn’t as big, but his drive to do so is even more.

Finally on the verge of being fully healthy Surratt wants his swansong of playing quarterback at Carthage to be the best one yet.

“There’s a little weight off my shoulders because I’ve always wanted to win a state championship with my dad,” Jett said. “Now that I’ve done it its a little weight off the shoulders but obviously I want to do it again.”

Hitting the links with power again

It wasn’t from lack of practice or a swing change it was the shoulder injury that hampered Jett nearly his entire junior golf season.

Coach Surratt mentioned Jett being the longest driver in the country at the age of 15 when he was clocked at 202 miles per hour on his ball speed. For example professional golfer Bryson Dechambeau on the range has been clocked at 202.

That’s where Jett was during his freshman golf season before suffering what became a lingering shoulder injury.

“He’s not where he was, at least not now,” Coach Surratt said. “We hope the surgery works when we get back up in that direction. He’s mentally stronger as a player going through all this. Guys it comes easy with no injuries or nothing and late in your career it happens and you don’t know how to deal with it.

“He will always know how to deal with injuries and he knows how to go through them and perform well.”

In hindsight Coach Surratt said Jett probably shouldn’t have played golf this season or at the least taken the first month or two after getting surgery.

Jett didn’t have any of that because he wanted to play his junior year with his cousin Cale Preston and his teammates.

“He’s going to get as strong as he can and we’re way ahead of schedule,” Coach Surratt said of Jett’s rehab. “We expect him to play Week 1 and we won’t play him in the scrimmage. In golf he’s near 50% and he’s setting it way better and it looks beautiful.”

Jett was very candid about how fickle the game of golf is and this is coming from a guy who would shoot mid 60s one day and in the 80s the next.

Factor in a shoulder injury that needed surgery and a swing change, Surratt making it to the state tournament was simply remarkable.

“You can play your best one day and play your absolute worst the next day,” Surratt said about golf. “You have to be resilient and no matter how bad I played I just kept my head held high.”

The shoulder injury got so bad as the season came to a close that not even someone who breaks par on a regular basis, knew where the ball was going to go.

“I didn’t know where the ball was going, truthfully,” Surratt said. “My club would drop down on the back swing and I didn’t know which direction the ball was going. That’s definitely hard to battle with on the golf course.”

With a potential sky is the limit senior season looming for Jett, Coach Surratt says there will be moments where his coaching hat will come off and take in the joys that are watching his only son blossom.

The legendary coach will still be coach but when it comes to watching Jett this year rather on the football field or golf course, dad will be watching more than usual.

“We just pray that he’s healthy and we do something special again,” Coach Surratt said. “We’ll work hard, have fun in practice and win the daily battle. Win lose or draw I’m going to love him to death, that’s my boy.”