Photography by Steve Buchanan
When Demetrius Ballard took over the Severn School football coaching job in February of 2022, a friend told him the first thing he should do is call then-junior standout athlete Jacob Todd’s father.
Ballard convinced Todd to return to football even though he hadn’t played since 2019. The coach vividly remembers seeing Todd, who was 12 at the time, personally dominating a team from the Old Mill Youth Football program that Ballard ran.
“He scored five touchdowns against one of our teams,” Ballard recalls. “I remember thinking, ‘Who is this kid?’”
Enter this past season for Severn. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Todd, a quarterback, led the Admirals to a championship, running for 24 touchdowns and 1,162 yards after the team went 0-9 in 2021. Even so, Todd sees his future in lacrosse. Going back to his freshman year, the reason he decided to give up football in the first place was to concentrate on lacrosse.
It paid off. He committed in September of 2021 to Princeton University, which finished the 2022 season listed at No. 4 in the country in Nike/USA Lacrosse’s final rankings. He also strongly considered the Naval Academy and the University of Pennsylvania.
“It starts with the education,” says Todd, who carries a weighted 3.7 grade-point average while taking five advanced placement classes. “They had a very successful lacrosse year, so I think that helped. I also fell in love with the coaches and the campus. I felt very comfortable there.”
Severn Boys Lacrosse Coach Joe Christie says Todd possesses all the attributes of a dominating player and a potential impact one in college. He led the Admirals in scoring last year and showed how he stacks up against players from the area, earning Baltimore Sun Second-Team All-Metro honors.
“He is a fierce competitor,” Christie says. “He has great vision, physicality, and speed, and is bigger than a lot of kids. And he has always been a great leader.”
And Ballard couldn’t agree more. “People follow him,” Ballard says. “The minute he decided he was going to play football again, a lot of kids came out for the team.”
Todd is a legitimate candidate to be a co-captain of the Severn lacrosse varsity team this spring. Severn’s policy doesn’t allow for junior captains, according to Christie. “I wouldn’t describe him as a vocal leader, but when he speaks, kids listen,” Christie explains. “He really has come along in that area.”
Todd’s playmaking ability may be his biggest strength, and it separates him from other players. He can score a clutch goal or dish out a key assist. Todd led Severn in goals (29) and assists (35) in 2022 and ranked first in goals (33) and second in assists (28) during the previous season.
His highest-scoring high school game—four goals and five assists—came in a 16-10 victory over John Carroll in April of last year.
“I can score, but I also get my teammates involved,” Todd says. “I have a good balance. I am a feeder. Getting everybody involved is good for the team environment and keeps everyone bought in. It lets the team thrive.”
Last year, Todd was named both a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference and All-County First-Team selection.
On the football field, the 18-year-old Todd created such a buzz about the school’s football program. After a memorable regular season, Todd rushed for 250 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-41 victory in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference title game.
He experienced a dream season. “I would say it definitely wasn’t expected,” Todd says. It will be tough for Ballard to replace Todd. “I got a call from (a coach) last year,” Ballard recalls. “He said, ‘They need to give you a raise. The Washington Post did an article on Severn football. That probably hasn’t happened in 30 years.’ I laughed. A lot of our success was just Jacob Todd.”
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