Coach returned to alma mater to lead student-athletes on successful path

Stephenson High School head coach Marcus Jelks has a unique connection with his football players. He’s walked the path they are currently on as both student and athlete. 

Before he began his coaching career in DeKalb County, Jelks attended Stephenson High School in 1996, the first year it opened in Stone Mountain. 

As a high school student, Jelks played on the offensive line as left tackle. He excelled on and off the field. He graduated from Stephenson with a 3.0 GPA and qualified for the HOPE Scholarship. 

All his hard work paid off. Jelks attended South Carolina State University on a football scholarship and would fulfill his dream of coaching in the community where he grew up. 

Asked to describe what it’s like to be a teacher and coach at the school he once attended and graduated from, Jelks said simply, “It’s amazing.” 

Now he leads the Stephenson Jaguars, a team that has gained a reputation as one of the most consistent programs in the county. 

For the previous four consecutive seasons, his team has made it to the playoffs. 

However, that hasn’t always been the case. 

When he returned to Stephenson as assistant coach in 2017—after coaching and serving as athletic director at Lithonia High School—the team missed the playoffs for the first time in the school’s history. 

Jelks is quick to say he hasn’t done it alone, crediting his coaching staff—half of them also former Stephenson students—with helping players excel. 

“We all have the same mindset and the same standard,” said Jelks. “We want to dominate and get better each day. We push them to their limit. We want to be a disciplined football team.” 

Among the Stephenson coaching staff is Reggie Ball Sr., strength coach, who formerly served as quarterback at Georgia Tech and was drafted by the Detroit Lions. 

However, the team isn’t exclusively focused on athletics. Once a week, Jaguar players participate in character education that Jelks describes as teaching life lessons about being a man. They are encouraged to ask the questions they’re “afraid to ask their parents.” 

“We are developing them to be leaders,” said Jelks, who also teaches 9th grade health and personal fitness.  

His athletic leadership has been recognized. Last year he was named coach of the year for DeKalb County. 

The 44-year-old father of a 6-year-old who’s just starting to show her skills on the soccer field is married to Myss Jelks, executive director of athletics for DeKalb County School District. 

Asked if school sports are discussed at the dinner table, Jelks said, “We both try not to bring work home.” 

Married for 18 years, the Jelks anniversary is during Georgia High School Association’s (GHSA) “dead week” when GHSA member schools cannot hold practices, camps, workouts, conditioning sessions, weight training sessions, or allow athletes access to school athletic facilities. He thanks his wife for her strategic planning so that future celebrations could be planned without scheduling drama. 

Jelks has his sights set on bringing home a championship title in the season ahead. 

Although the Jaguars have won region titles for the last three years, were DeKalb County champions for the last two years , and have a tradition of producing players who receive Division I college scholarships and reach the NFL, winning a state championship has eluded the team. 

To reach that goal, Jelks is relying on veteran players such as quarterback Zabrian Boler; senior running back Jayden Johnson, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards; and defensive end/edge rusher Kwame K.J. Green Jr., who was picked as one of the “Super 11” by the AJC and who Jelks said is the No. 2 defensive end in the country, as well as the full 80 player roster.