Class of 2023 Recruit Spotlight: Bolton High School WR/DB Jaylen Welch

by Jace LeJeune

The Bolton High School Bears will have a new head coach after Mark Teague resigned from the position. The Bears will be led now by Northwest High School offensive coordinator James Dartez and for Coach Dartez, he will have some good weapons to utilize in year one including senior WR/DB Jaylen Welch.

Although Welch is at a slender 6'1, 160 pounds, he has a lot of shiftiness and quickness to his game. He also has the speed to get behind defenses as well. Despite his speed as an offensive player, he is also one of the top defensive backs in the CenLa area earning 2nd Team All-District honors last season.

Even though the Bears are coming off a two win season and are in year number one under a first year head coach, Welch has a lot of expectations for the upcoming season.

"We didn't do as well as we should of did, but I feel like we are going to have a bounce back season," Welch said.

The Bolton two way starter's goals are to have 1,000 yards receiving and over 20 touchdowns. Finally, he hopes his team can go deep in the playoffs too. As far as s are concerned, he has received some interest from both ULL and Culver Stockton, but his dream schools are LSU, Oregon, and Oklahoma.

Welch's speed and explosiveness can be due to his ability on the basketball court as it keeps him active and in shape for when football season comes around. When trying to model his game after a player, he looks up to a former LSU Tiger and a Super Bowl champion.

"I like watching Odell Beckham Jr. because we play the same position and he is very quick," Welch said.

The summer will be very busy for Welch as he will be attending in-state camps at Northwestern State, Southeastern, LSU, and Grambling. In the end, Welch hopes that what he does over the summer and in the fall will allow him to get an opportunity at the next level.

"Why not," Welch said. "I am a hard worker and I will go 110% everyday."

The most impressive part of Jaylen Welch is that he goes 110% not only on the field, but off the field as one day, he would like to give back to his community by getting involved in youth programs.

Click below to check out Jaylen Welch's junior highlights:

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13119240/62789388d21b3e09d8866a19

We have exciting news that for the 25th year, we will release our Louisiana Football Magazine preview editions. Also, for the fifth straight year, we will have our North and South LA issues and both are now available to pre-order! Both issues will continue to cover all the Louisiana s as well as all the high schools in state, but there will be eight pages that will focus on North Louisiana as well as South Louisiana. Along with our print editions of both magazine issues, our digital magazine editions will also be available to pre-order. Just like with our print versions, our digital editions will be available to you when both magazines are available.

For more information, please check the following link to where you can either order our print or digital version of the magazine of your choice. Also, below are the two covers as well as where you can order both magazines on our website.

Buy Print/Digital Magazine Here: https://www.lafootballmagazine.com/2021-magazines/

North Cover South Cover

Jace is from Addis, LA but resides in Port Allen, LA. Jace has graduated recently from Southeastern Louisiana University with a major in Communications. Jace has broadcasted games as a play by play announcer for Southeastern’s football and basketball games on ESPN Plus. He has also broadcasted football games as the play by play announcer for Episcopal High School football and baseball on Varsity Sports Now Also, Jace has anchored and reported on Southeastern’s award winning show “The Big Game.” This is Jace’s fifth year as Associate Editor at Louisiana Football Magazine. He is also a graduate from Catholic High School in baton-rouge where he was the editor of the school newspaper the “Bearly Published.” While at CHS, Jace also announced their football, basketball, and baseball games for the Bruin Broadcast Network which is the Catholic High’s streaming website for their events. On weekends, Jace is the PA announcer for his middle school football games. At home, Jace enjoys time with his family and friends. Besides being a huge football fan, Jace is also an avid NHRA drag racing fan.