In College Station, football is everywhere, and growing up for Jett Huff, it was no different. His dad ran one of the top 5A high school programs in Texas, and Huff was usually on the sidelines and in locker rooms, watching and absorbing how the older players prepared, competed and celebrated.

“I started loving it at a young age, just because I was always around it,” Huff said. “I was always in the locker rooms with the high school dudes, and seeing guys way older than me go out and play… it makes you want to do it someday.”

When he was in eighth grade, he saw the same players he idolized growing up win the state championship. Watching his dad’s program reach the top level of Texas high school football always stuck with him.

“I was like, ‘Man, I want to come back here someday, no doubt.’”

When Huff joined the program a year later, he immediately stepped in as the quarterback coached by his own father, which wasn’t easy. Expectations were high at home and school, but it forced him to always keep improving.

“He was tough on me for sure,” Huff said. “But the older I got, the better the communication got. He knew I understood the mistakes I made, and I could go home and ask him about something from practice that day.”

By his senior year, Huff had helped lead College Station to the state championship game, a moment he had dreamed about since watching his father hoist the trophy in eighth grade. Most of his teammates had been playing together for years, which made the ride to the championship that much sweeter, despite not coming out with the win.

“That’s the most fun you’ll ever have playing football,” Huff said. “Going on a playoff run with your high school buddies.”

Huff started playing the quarterback position in second grade and never looked back. By the end of his sophomore season, he had varsity snaps. After his junior year, scholarship offers showed up.

He picked Houston. The competition attracted him, the stage appealed to him, and it felt close enough to home. But things changed when his family moved to Fort Worth, and the gap between opportunity and reality widened.

“You figure out you’re not going to have a chance to play at that level,” Huff said. “I didn’t want to go through college and never give myself a chance.”

He entered the portal. The same coaches from The University of Central Oklahoma who had kept an eye on him in high school reached out, and the fit made sense.

Arriving in Edmond came with a wake-up call. Huff was out of shape and hadn’t logged meaningful snaps in a long time. He knew he had a long way to go.

“When I left Houston, I was not in good shape,” he said. “I was overweight, out of rhythm… I just wanted to give myself the opportunity to compete for the job.”

He embraced the hard work and coaching, and it resulted in one of the most productive seasons from a quarterback in UCO history. It also included one of the toughest moments of his career. Midway through the season, he was benched.

“It all happened fast,” Huff said. “One week you’re playing great, and then everything feels like it’s slipping. It’s frustrating when you know you’re better than that.”

When he took the field again in UCO’s first playoff game, the game had slowed down and the confidence returned with the win.

“Going out and winning that game brought all the confidence back,” he said.

That stretch changed his approach to leadership.

“I try to be positive with the guys and make sure they feel like they’re the best on the field,” Huff said. “Some people need to hear that from someone else.”

Off the field, Huff has developed a close relationship with UCO’s coaching staff, something that felt very different from his time at Houston.

“When I got here, I didn’t know you could just walk into a coach’s office and talk,” he said. “It’s different here. They care about you as a person. It’s not just business.”

This season he pulled off one of the best individual performances in school history, a 449-yard, five-touchdown night.

“I just feel lucky to be in that spot,” he said. “A lot of people would kill for the opportunity.”

Next year, he’ll be a senior, shifting his focus toward the kind of influence he wants to have on the guys around him.

“How can I make the other guys better? How can I improve their confidence?” he said. “Getting everyone to work as one is going to be huge.”

Off the field, Huff is a physical education/health major who tries to squeeze in a round of golf when he can, though the season rarely gives him any room for it. 

“You just accept that you have no time,” Huff said. “You have to be smart with the time you do have.”

When asked what advice he’d give to the high school version of himself leaving for Houston, he said “It’s not going to come fast at all, you’re going to do things you don’t want to do, but it’s going to pay off. Be thankful for the opportunities you get.”

Huff’s early days in locker rooms, his championship run, his search for a place to play and his rise at UCO have all led him to this moment. From a kid watching older players chase their dreams to a quarterback leading the Bronchos, the series of turns has brought him to Edmond at the right time.