A canonical event is something that shapes a person and defines their character for the rest of their life. For example, Spider-Man’s canonical event is the death of his uncle, Ben Parker; in Jason Kelce’s case, the canonical event of his career dates back to his high school days, when he discovered that he was not quarterback material.
Kelce is one of the biggest stars of the Philadelphia Eagles. The center, who graduated from the University of Cincinnati, played 13 seasons in the NFL, all with the “Birds,” and retired at the end of the 2023 season with 193 games and a championship ring under his belt.
Travis Kelce’s older brother became famous as one of the best centers in Philadelphia history and one of the best of his NFL class. It all came about thanks to one fateful day in high school when Jason tried his hand at quarterback and, in his own words, “It was not good.”
Jason Kelce playing under center?
In a video that recently resurfaced on social media, the former Eagles center told head coach Nick Sirianni, “I played one game of quarterback in high school… quarterback, one game,” Kelce recalled. “Our starting quarterback missed practice and I threw like a decent go ball, just to f*ck around.”
When his coach saw him, he decided to try Jason under center. “So they’re like, ‘You’re playing the first half against Shaker’ and I went out there, I threw two passes. One incomplete and one interception,” Kelce narrated to Sirianni’s laughter.
With his characteristic sense of humor, Kelce explained that after his embarrassing interception, in which he didn’t even see the safety in front of his receiver, he decided he would never throw again. “The rest of the quarter I was like, ‘I’m just running everything. I’ll drop back and just take off.'”
“A humbling experience”
The former Eagles star said he had a touchdown drive but was so exhausted that he decided to leave the game after the first quarter ended. “It was not good. It was a very humbling experience. The only thing I could throw was a fade route,” he admitted.
We’ll never know what would have happened if Kelce had held on to the quarterback job, but his career as a center speaks for itself: seven-time Pro Bowler, six-time First-Team All-Pro, and Super Bowl LII champion. There are quarterbacks who will never accomplish half of what he did as a center.
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