Recent Archbishop Spalding graduate Jayden Umbarger is in search of justice. Umbarger, who played quarterback for the Cavaliers, wants to be a Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps lawyer. He will begin that journey in the fall by entering the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island, before attending the Naval Academy in 2020.
“There are a lot of ways you can do justice and everybody has their niche,” Umbarger explains. “I’m good with preparing and analyzing things to the point where I can speak about it. I will be bringing justice in either defending or prosecuting somebody.”
His inspiration comes from his aunt, Arcacia Kim, who works at a law firm. They spent countless hours talking about law. “Growing up, my aunt had a really big influence on me,” Umbarger says. “We talked a lot about what it takes to become a lawyer.”
It was an easy decision for Umbarger, who also hopes to play quarterback for the Midshipmen, to pick the Naval Academy. He chose the school over West Point and Albany State. “I love the Naval Academy itself and the downtown area,” says Umbarger, who carried a 3.9 grade-point average. “My family lives close, so they don’t have to travel far to see my games. That was one factor. Another factor: They were the school that always stuck with me through the whole recruiting process. Navy was the first school to really recruit me.”
The 6-foot, 190-pound Umbarger had another strong connection, since Spalding was already a pipeline for quarterbacks to go to Navy. Zach Abey and Evan Fochtman played football for the Midshipmen after playing quarterback at Spalding. “Those two previous quarterbacks went there, so they were going to look at me,” says Umbarger, who also played wide receiver and running back for the Cavaliers. “They knew I had the same abilities as Zach and Evan.”
Spalding football coach Kyle Schmidt says Umbarger is the ideal student and football player for Navy. “He has the character, toughness, and attitude,” the coach says. “He is a perfect fit for Navy. He believes in the team and puts them above himself. That’s the type of guy you win with.”
Schmidt says Umbarger showed his team-first attitude after his junior season as quarterback when he threw for seven touchdowns and 733 yards, while completing 65.6 percent of his passes.
Despite his success, the coaching staff asked him to move to safety for his senior year. Umbarger quickly agreed. “The biggest thing with him as a senior was his incredible selflessness,” Schmidt explains. “[Other players] would probably threaten to transfer. And they would probably be a malcontent. He couldn’t have been more than the opposite of that.”
Umbarger also made 40 tackles playing defense, but the coaching staff elected to move him back to quarterback around midseason.
He finished the season with 23 touchdowns overall, rushing for 17. Additionally, he ran 1,087 yards, and threw for 979.
However, his best game came during his junior year. Umbarger threw for four touchdowns and rushed for three more in a 76-58 win over Gilman.
“He can really beat you with his legs and arms,” Schmidt says. “He is such a great athlete and really smart. When his grade-point average isn’t that much different from his 40 [yard dash] time, then you have a deadly combination.”
Umbarger played wide receiver as a sophomore after transferring from Gilman, where he played quarterback for the junior varsity.
He thinks his future is as a signal caller. “It was hard for teams to defend me because they were worried about how I can run,” Umbarger says. “With all the running I would do, the play action pass would be wide open.”
