Top prospect Brady hopes to continue tradition of success for wide receivers at Chaminade

Jabari Brady was not yet the future of Chaminade-Madonna’s always star-studded offense when he tagged along with Jeremiah Smith for one of his visits to Ohio State University last year.

At the time, Smith was in the middle of a spectacular senior season with the Lions and Brady was an emerging star at Monarch. They were close because of their twin goals of being the best wide receiver in their recruiting class and their affiliations with South Florida Express on the 7-on-7 circuit. They bonded on the visit and Smith, who wound up as the No. 1 prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2024, became a mentor to one of the best underclassmen in the country.

A few months later, the wideouts forged another connection: Brady transferred to Chaminade-Madonna, trying to follow in Smith’s footsteps as the cornerstone of the Lions’ offense.

“I want to put him in his own category. That ain’t fair to him,” Chaminade coach Dameon Jones said, before conceding some comparisons. “I love his work ethic and that kind of reminds me of some receivers in the past.”

Now a junior, Brady is one of the best players in South Florida regardless of class, ranked as the No. 31 overall recruit in the Class of 2026 and No. 4 prospect in Florida.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound receiver caught 43 passes for 864 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman for the Knights, then topped those numbers with 70 catches for 1,392 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore, helping Monarch reach the state semifinals for the first time in history. He’s already a two-time All-Broward County selection by the Miami Herald, including a first-team selection last year.

Brady’s resume is already decorated. His move across the county to Chaminade-Maddona, which is ranked No. 9 in the country by MaxPreps, will give him a chance to add another layer to it, but will also come with challenges.

Brady made the move down to Hollywood in time for spring practices and felt a little bit of a culture shock. The Lions have been to eight straight state championships and regularly play one of the toughest schedules in the country. They have close to half a dozen blue-chip recruits and about 10 of the roughly 25 best prospects in the county.

Brady played extremely high-level football in Coconut Creek, but Chaminade-Madonna presents a different level of expectations, where anything less than a state title and a run at a national championship is a disappointment.

“I had to get comfortable at the beginning because it’s a way different transition,” Brady said. “Practice is way faster than I really expected. It’s like they’re getting you ready for college.”

Those lofty expectations also may be a bit harder to meet this season. Smith is gone and so are the Lions’ quarterback, top running back and No. 2 wide receiver from last year. Brady joins Chaminade-Madonna at a moment of transition, and he’ll have to both adjust to a new team and immediately become one of Lions’ offensive leaders.

“That crew we had last year, we had for three years, four years, so you kind of knew this is kind of a younger group,” Jones said. “Young, talented group, but we’re going to have to see are they prepared for the big lights? Are they prepared to play Chaminade-Madonna football? Some come from different places where they didn’t have to go through the gauntlet that we’re going to go through.”

The lessons will have to come fast. The Lions open the regular season Aug. 24 against No. 4 St. John Bosco from Bellflower, California, in the Broward County National High School Football Showcase. Most likely, Brady will match up with USC-bound cornerback Joshua Holland in his first official game at his new school.

Until then, Brady will get important lessons in practice. His matchup most days of the week is with four-star cornerback Chris Ewald Jr., who’s orally committed to Miami.

“I know how it felt when you first got here, so I’m just trying to tell them, just give it some time. You’re going to get comfortable,” Ewald said. “He came a long way.”