John Cooper School's dual-sport star Jaxson Pierce has had a breakout season so far toting the rock for the Dragons, who are undefeated.
In the Spring, he will trade his shoulder pads for a catcher's mitt as he goes behind the plate for the Cooper baseball team.
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VYPE caught up with one of the city's top private school athletes to pick his brain about his high school career and beyond in the 411.
VYPE: You are blowing up this season. What's been the difference this year?
PIERCE: I've been really invested this season in looking at the film and getting to know the other team, which helps me a lot during game time when I need to make quick decisions. I've been improving on my open-field speed and hitting the hole harder to make myself a very hard back to bring down.
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VYPE: People know you for football and baseball. What is something people might NOT know about you?
PIERCE: One thing people might not know about me is that I really like time to myself to keep a positive attitude in life.
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VYPE: In football, who do you pattern your game after?
PIERCE: I like to watch football and it doesn't matter who is on. I love to watch backs like Josh Jacobs, Trent Richardson and Adrian Peterson. I try to model myself after them because all of those backs have power but also have the ability to make a man miss.
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VYPE: How about baseball? Who's is your model?
PIERCE: For baseball, I really like the hitting style of Vladdy (Guerrero) Jr. On the defensive aspect, I love watching clips of David Ross and his mechanics behind the plate.
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VYPE: How does baseball help you in football and vice versa?
PIERCE: Baseball helps me in football with hand-eye coordination. I say this because I am a catcher and I am always catching pitchers which really helps with my abilities to catch balls in football. Football also helps me with baseball because since I'm catching, I have to block balls all the time. Football helps me get used to the feeling of being hit.
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VYPE: Five years from now, what are you doing?
PIERCE: If I end up not playing a college sport, I see myself going into an engineering field because math and science are my strong suits in school. I have also thought about becoming a surgeon.
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VYPE: What's more fun, scoring a touchdown or hitting a home run?
PIERCE: I definitely think scoring a touchdown is a better feeling because it's a feeling that after six years of playing football that I still can't describe. It's unreal.