Jake Overbey, a Jackson native, is honored for his accomplishments as a college and high school baseball player and for his stellar football career at University School of Jackson.
The son of Michael and Regina Overbey, he was a three-year starter at quarterback at USJ and the first Jackson player to win the TSSAA Mr. Football honor twice (2009, 2010). He was a finalist three times.
“It was a great honor to be nominated as a sophomore and to win Mr. Football my junior and senior year, but I certainly could not have done it alone,” Overbey said. “Football is a team game, and it takes a mixture of great people to win football games.
“From the linemen protecting me, to the receivers getting open and catching passes, to the coaches getting us prepared with a game plan, it takes more than just an individual to win football games. I am grateful to have won Mr. Football, but much more grateful to be on a winning team with my teammates enjoying a win on a Friday night.”
At USJ, Overbey passed for 8,408 yards and 103 touchdowns and ran for 21 TDs. In 2009 he had 44 TD passes, which ranks sixth for a single season in the TSSAA records. In three seasons as the starting quarterback, he led USJ to a 29-6 record and a state runner-up trophy. He completed 62 percent of his career passes.
Overbey, 32, played for Mickey Marley, who was the head football coach at USJ from 1989 to 2015 and is now the USJ Football Alumni Coordinator.
“It was my honor and privilege to have had the opportunity to coach Jake Overbey,” said Marley, a 2012 Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame inductee. “Jake was one of the best football players I’ve ever coached. As a quarterback, Jake had an innate ability to make big plays happen. Jake was an outstanding teammate and could ‘rally the troops’ when necessary. Not only was Jake a great player and teammate, he was, and is, a greater person on and off the field.”
Overbey’s talents were not limited to the football field. He was a three-year starter at shortstop at USJ and was named all-state, all-region and all-district in baseball in 2011. His senior season he batted .400 with 10 home runs, 28 doubles, and 54 RBI while scoring 56 runs. The winner of the Most Valuable Player award in the West Tennessee All-Star game, Overbey traveled throughout the nation playing with the Memphis-based Elite Dulin’s Dodgers.
Asked if he favored baseball or football, he said, “That is a tough one to answer. I played baseball from a very early age through college. There were a lot of games and memories that I made along the way. For instance, playing shortstop at Ole Miss while my brother (Preston) was playing second base was an all-time highlight.
“Football was completely different though. It’s hard to beat the intensity and the emotions that you get playing football. Football seemed to come more naturally to me, and I love the strategy of reading and exploiting defenses. The positions I played in both sports were leadership positions, and I always enjoyed that responsibility. I would say it is a tie. I just love to compete. Now, golf is my challenge.”
Overbey was a 10th round draft selection by the Philadelphia Phillies in Major League Baseball, but he chose to sign a Southeastern Conference scholarship with the University of Mississippi.
“I was fortunate to be picked by the Phillies out of high school, but I never expected to have that hard of a decision to make,” Overbey said. “The decision to go play alongside my brother at an SEC baseball powerhouse like Ole Miss was what ultimately made that decision. It was a dream come true for our entire family. Preston and I are so close in age that I started out by playing up in age so I could be on Preston’s team. I did not know how special that was for us until we got to college and were able to continue being teammates in the SEC.”
Preston Overbey was inducted into the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
“He made it easier for me,” Jake said. “I was lucky to have a brother like Preston who I could watch go through all the things someone has to do to become a D1 athlete. From the recruiting process, also being drafted, the training, the grades, etcetera. I was able to watch and learn from him, and it gave me a sense of being one step ahead because I felt like I had already gone through it.
“He helped me in a lot of ways, and all I had to do was watch and wait for my turn. I owe much of my sports success to Preston because we always competed to be the best we could be and not worry about competing against others, and by watching his hard work ethic and discipline.”
Overbey left Ole Miss, returned to the football field and lettered when he transferred to Tennessee Martin for one season. But in 2014 he transferred to the University of Memphis where he played his last two baseball seasons.
“Once I was eligible to play baseball at the Division I level again, I finished my career and earned my bachelor’s degree at the University of Memphis,” he said.
Overbey and his wife Hillary have a 3-year-old daughter, Elaine. He is a financial advisor with Voya Financial in Jackson.
The 39th Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at the Carl Perkins Civic Center, 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 10.
For tickets and reservations for the Jackson-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame event, call Beth Sedberry (731) 616-8558.
(PHOTO: Jake Overbey)
