The J-Way: Zachary Embraces Je’Caryous Johnson’s path before cancer took his life
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Je’Caryous “Jay” Johnson told his mother, Ashley Webb, about his ambition to play in the NFL. He always saw it as compensation for the way she raised Johnson and his seven other siblings.
“When I make it, I got you,” was Johnson’s pledge to Webb.
Johnson grew up on the youth league football fields in Zachary, displaying plenty of promise as a running back that didn’t initially transfer over to high school.
Playing for one of the state’s foremost programs, four-time Class 5A state champion Zachary, requires a certain level of maturity from all of its players, a hurdle he was eventually able to overcome and become one of the team’s most respected members.
It’s that personal growth in his life, the period where dressing neatly was of paramount importance, accepting the program’s culture of accountability that eventually catapulted him into a starting role during the 2024 season, that head coach David Brewerton remembers most.
“Jay was a guy that early on experienced some issues within the program,” said Brewerton, now in his 12th season at Zachary and 27th in coaching. “Every now and then, you have some kids that come through and we call them, ‘can’t get it right’. They constantly have something going on that keeps them from getting to a higher level or more playing time.
“I give a lot of credit to (offensive coordinator) Kenny Langlois,” Brewerton said. “They had a tremendous bond, and it was more through tough love than anything else. They had some battles. Then, in the spring of his sophomore year, we got to see Jay change mentally and personally. He decided to commit and dedicate himself, and boy, did he have a tremendous junior year for us. He sold out to being the best H-back that he could be for us and was a big part of the success we had.”
Referring to Johnson in the past tense has become increasingly difficult for Brewerton, a football program, and the Zachary community that endured an emotional six-month journey with Johnson until he lost a courageous battle to cancer on May 9.
He was just 17 when his life had been on an upward trajectory prior to his diagnosis last Dec. 17.
“What a fire he was,” said Langlois, who is in his 12th season as offensive coordinator with Brewerton. “I tried to stay positive with him through it all. I told him to stay in shape; you’re going to put some weight on. I brought him some exercise bands until he couldn’t do it anymore. It’s a tragedy at that young an age.”
A sign that Johnson’s life was pointed in a better direction came in appreciation for fashion – the ability to sport the cleanest look – along with the normal interests of teenagers, such as music and video games. He was also a huge fan of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Part of the delight Langlois has enjoyed with Zachary’s program has been to be on the ground floor before a respective player’s star begins to rise.
He oversees freshman workouts in the weight room, giving him insight into the makeup of each player and the capacity to lay the groundwork for getting to know them on a more personal level.
One of the hallmarks of Zachary’s program under Brewerton has been fulfilling his philosophy for his staff to build relationships with every player, getting to know them on and off the field, and establishing trust that can be invaluable in a player-coach relationship.
“I reached out to him to let me what I had to go through to him because evidently what I was doing wasn’t working,” Langlois said. “I tried all angles from scolding him to praising him. It was really the transformation he made to being a total team player.
“He grew up tremendously,” Langlois said of Johnson. “Trying to keep him on track was a daily task. I told his mom we had butted heads for years. I don’t know what happened his junior year, but I almost had to tell him he went overboard. He dressed properly every day, no discipline issues, grades we great. It clicked, and I don’t know what it was.”
Brewerton’s vision was for his players to see their coaches through the lens of their roles as men, fathers, and husbands instead of simply coaches.
The bond shared by Johnson and Langlois was a prime example of Brewerton’s hope.
The phase Johnson went through his first two seasons in the program was never anything egregious, Langlois said. Just a 14-15-year-old kid lacking maturity, often showing more of a ‘silly’ side that was prevalent with a lot of guys his age.
Langlois, a 27-year coaching veteran, altered his philosophy after watching the metamorphosis of Johnson during their time together.
“It’s changed the way I approach kids,” he said. “Not giving up on a kid, saying he can’t get it right. Just staying with a kid and trying to figure out the best way to reach them. Some are just different.”
Johnson eventually found his way onto the field in a starting role during the ’24 season.
With senior Da’vekio Ruffin, the team’s established threat in the backfield, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Johnson accepted the less glitzy role of wingback.
“Adolescents have to learn and figure out it’s not all about you,” Brewerton said. “People around you play a major part in that; it makes you put things in perspective. As a coach, when you get to see that lightbulb go off for some of your guys, it’s really special to watch.”
Johnson’s primary role was that of a blocker, helping to set the edge and leading the way through the hole for Ruffin, who rushed for 1,631 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Johnson, who had 12 carries for 24 yards and a TD, was the team’s sixth-leading receiver with 11 catches and 84 yards and a score.
“It’s 99% blocking,” Langlois said of the team’s wingback. “We got the ball to him here and there. I made a deal with him, if things stayed good, I would have special plays for him (including a shovel pass in last year’s 49-14 win over Plaquemine. It wasn’t a glamour position, but it didn’t matter to him. If we scored a touchdown, he was the first dude down there celebrating with his guys. He bought into what we were preaching around here.”
The ’24 season ended abruptly for Zachary, who was in the state championship game the year before.
The Broncos, which suffered their first loss in five trips to the state championship game in a 31-17 setback to Ruston, were bounced by the Bearcats for the second consecutive year, 42-21, in the regional round of the Division I non-select playoffs.
With the team collecting its things and boarding their busses for the 3 ½ return trip to Zachary, Johnson complained of pain in his hip.
“It was probably about an hour after I packed everything up, and he’s still balling,” Langlois said. “I asked him if he was OK and he said yes. I told him he had an unbelievable year.”
Brewerton said a trainer provided Johnson with ice to try and combat the pain in his hip on the trip home. For the first time since 2012, the Broncos were out of the playoffs for the Thanksgiving holiday.
When he returned to the school the following week, Johnson was still in pain and had noticeably lost 10 pounds. Treatment finally gave way to a trip to the doctor, who performed scans and MRIs and came to a chilling conclusion just before Christmas.
“That’s when we found out the diagnosis,” Brewerton said. “He had Stage 4 cancer in multiple areas of his body, and he was admitted into the Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge.”
Brewerton visited Johnson’s room the first night in the hospital, joining Webb and Johnson’s aunt Sheneil Dickson. Realizing the potential for a lengthy stay, Johnson asked his mother to call and make Zachary High aware of his condition for fear of receiving poor grades because of his inability to attend school.
“My goodness gracious, what did I just hear?” Dickinson said. “Jacaryous is worried about his schoolwork. Wants to make sure he stays eligible?”
The response between Johnson and his mother certainly resonated with Brewerton.
“That may not sound as important to other people, it was important to their family,” he said. “You could see there were some priorities there in his life that may not have been there before. We began to see that coming out of him. That was special to see. We all knew he was battling a severe uphill grind. To see what things were important to him, it was powerful.”
The connection between Langlois and Johnson grew deeper with his player’s future in peril. They either talked by phone or exchanged text messages on a daily basis, and one time when Langlois fell asleep before hearing from Johnson, he was quick to touch base with him the following morning.
“He apologized, and Jay said, ‘Coach, it’s OK,’” Brewerton said. “Kenny was pretty broken up about it. There was certainly a special bond there. Kenny was a hard ass on that kid. For the first two years, he hammered that kid, and when he turned, I give a huge amount of credit to Kenny. It was awesome to watch.”
Johnson, who had a cancerous mass on his kidney removed during his stay, was released to go home two weeks later. He prepared for a trip to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, where he wound up spending an additional two weeks.
When Brewerton arrived at his home, he found Johnson in his room playing video games in his bed and in relatively good spirits.
It’s long been a team rule that none of Zachary’s players are allowed to bring any of their equipment home, but Brewerton noticed a black helmet on a shelf facing Johnson’s bed.
“I said you don’t want to let (assistant) coach (Jerry) Garidel come over and see that helmet,” Brewerton told him half-heartedly. “He laughed. I asked him what he thought of that helmet. He said every morning, he woke up, looked over, and saw that helmet, and it reminded him that he had to attack that day.”
With the loss of Ruffin to graduation, Langlois spoke glowingly of the plans he had for Johnson in ’25.
The Broncos lost their top two running backs, and with the experience that he gained during the ’24 season, Johnson was a likely candidate to be the team’s starter this season.
“He can bring it; he was a tough kid,” Langlois said. “His other position was running back; he was our JV running back the year before. We had to get him on the field somewhere. He was a running back that blocked for those guys and was so happy when they scored. He was all Zachary. In my opinion, he was going to be the No. 1 guy in the backfield this year. I had big plans for him, and I think he knew that.”
However, Johnson’s condition worsened, and after a couple of weeks in Memphis was allowed to return home until his death on May 9.
“It’s been hard on a lot of our guys and coaches,” Brewerton said. “As a coach, you’re thankful you got to spend some time with a kid like that. You watch him go through the maturation process of becoming a man and see the things he fought from an adversity standpoint. He fought his ass off right until the very end. I was a proud coach throughout all that situation.”
The almost five-month ordeal gripped the program, the school, and the community.
“This one was a little different; this was a drawn-out process,” Brewerton said. “It’s something different for the kids in the program to endure and deal with. It was ever-present. The coaches and community had to watch as he continued to deteriorate. It was powerful.”
A collective mourning awaited a “Celebration of Life” held in the Zachary High gymnasium, where both sets of bleachers were filled to capacity two weeks later.
Zachary’s entire football team was present along with members of the community. They were listened to an array of speakers ranging from teammates, members of the clergy, and coaches that dated back to Johnson’s youth playing days.
“It was very special,” Brewerton said. “It was what it needed to be. Given all the things the family, his teammates, and classmates had to deal with. It was tough. When that happened, it was good for everybody to be there together. People dealt with it in different ways. It was Jay. I was glad his family got to see the impact that he had on a bunch of people. I thought that was special.
“This was especially difficult on his mother,” Brewerton said. “To watch our community rally around with their arms around that family was special to be a part of. She’s still in contact with our senior football players. She tells me they still talk a lot; she tells me all the time they stop by her house and check on her quite often and make sure she’s doing OK.”
Members of this year’s team brainstormed for ways to keep Johnson’s memory at the forefront of their thoughts.
During Johnson’s hospitalization, they came up with orange shirts emblazoned with ‘The J-Way’ because of the color’s symbolization of strength, optimism, and creativity for cancer patients and their supporters. It’s also regarded as an uplifting and energetic color – a melding of red and yellow – that adorns each 20-yard line on Zachary’s home field.
“They wanted to fight this thing, the J-Way,” Brewerton said. “It took flight. Then the guys asked for a sticker on our helmets. Another asked if we could make a flag that says the J-Way with his number (20) when we run out with the American flag. I said yes to all of those.”
Zachary’s also brought out Johnson’s jersey to the field with its captains for the coin toss each game and hung the jersey on the team’s tent on its sideline.
“We wanted to do those things to make sure we keep him with us all the time,” Brewerton said. “Obviously, he would have given anything to be on this football team. His family would have given anything to be able to watch him play his senior year. I did not want to make it like a battle cry all the time. I wanted it to be more; he’s still with us all the time. He’s just not physically with us.
“Jay deserved that,” Brewerton said of his spot on this year’s team roster. “Not because he was already on this team, but because of the changes he made in his life to become an integral part of this team. That’s why he’s there and will be there until the end of the season.”
‘The J-Way’ is the way the team breaks when it moves from drill to drill during practice, leaving the weight room or game field.
“His mom was worried about people forgetting him,” Langlois said. “He’ll never be forgotten.”
Langlois finds himself walking through the team’s locker room and gazes at Johnson’s locker, which remains in mint condition. His No. 20 jerseys still hang with his cleats and workout shoes as tangible reminders.
“I find myself sometimes just sitting by that locker,” he said.
Junior Jeremy Patton was a reserve running back a year ago who made his first start in last week’s opener with Plaquemine. The Broncos’ new-look backfield of Patton and transfer Tylek Lewis took over the function Johnson may have handled, with Patton rushing for a career-high 217 yards and two touchdowns on runs of 25 and 72 yards, respectively, in the team’s 52-28 victory.
“Jeremy took his passing pretty tough,” Langlois said of Johnson. “He used to check on him daily. I guess he text him after workout sessions to see how he was doing. I think he kind of looked up to Jay.”
Now everyone else does as well.