Welcome to the 2022 FCS Jersey Countdown.
Leading up to Week 0 games on Aug. 27, HERO Sports will name the best returning FCS player by jersey number, 99-0. Due to rosters being updated at different times for teams across the country and to keep things consistent, jersey numbers are based on last season’s rosters.
The 99-0 countdown central page can be found here.
Note: Jersey numbers are based on 2021 rosters.
81: Jadakis Bonds, WR (Sr.) — Hampton
Bonds is an elite target on the outside with next-level talent. He has the size (6-foot-4 and 190 pounds), the top-end speed, and is a smooth athlete.
Bonds had an electric 2019 season just two years out of high school. The three-star recruit quickly emerged as a dangerous downfield threat, catching 70 passes for 943 yards and a program-record 15 TDs. He showed out against Hampton’s FBS opponent Liberty with eight catches for 144 yards and two TDs.
Bonds was named on the All-Big South Conference First Team and received HERO Sports Sophomore All-American accolades.
Hampton did not play a game in the 2020-21 season due to COVID. Instead of testing the transfer portal like many FCS players did, Bonds stuck with his team. Hampton players went 1.75 years without playing a game, but Bonds kept his play at a high level and starred in another standout season last fall, earning First Team All-Conference honors again.
He tallied 54 catches for 773 yards and six TDs, totaling 24 career touchdown catches to break the program record. Bonds had another solid game against an FBS opponent, which is the first film NFL scouts check. He caught five passes for 68 yards and a score versus Old Dominion.
The Pirates finished 5-6 last season and 3-4 in the Big South. They joined the CAA this offseason, a step up in FCS play. How Hampton factors into the conference race and where it lands in the standings will be interesting, but there is no denying the Colonial gained one of the best FCS WRs in Bonds, and it will be fun to see him match up against CAA defenses.
