Number 5 Jariq Scales welcomes challenge of chasing NFL dream

If you ask Jariq Scales, he says there’s really no significance of five as his jersey number choice.

“It was the only single digit up for grabs in high school,” replied the Osceola High School alum and Southern Arkansas University (SAU) grad when asked. “My college coach said it meant prosperity I think.”

Maybe, just maybe, the right number fell in his lap after all.

Trace the meaning of the number five and find many interpretations.

One states “always ready for the next big challenge”.

Scales fits that to a ‘T’.

You see the 5-10, 200 lb. running back, who is SAU’s all-time leading rusher, has seen his share of challenges and always seems to find success.

Maybe his first can be linked to growing up the youngest of seven children. The next could likely be in the classroom where he earned the grades to be salutatorian of his 2019 high school class or securing bachelor’s and master’s degrees in college, and now studying for a second master’s. And then there were the challenges of not being the biggest or fastest on the high school or college football field.

Challenges accepted and challenges met.

Now, Scales and his apropos number 5 have yet another challenge in the crosshairs – the National Football League.

After a stellar collegiate career at SAU which saw him rush for 4,476 yards and score 52 touchdowns, Scales declared for the NFL Draft on Dec. 16, 2024.

“I certainly believe I have what it takes,” said Scales confidently in a phone interview. “I have the skill set to make it.”

And Scales isn’t the only one hyping his talent and ability. There’s a couple of coaches who will gladly shout their support to anyone who’ll choose to listen.

Osceola head coach R.J. Hooks and SAU coach Brad Smiley both agree that Scales is dynamic on the football field, from his elusiveness carrying the football to his pass catching ability out of the backfield.

Yeah, it’s those qualities both coaches believe will play a part in him getting an opportunity at the next level but it’s not the one they prioritize.

“No matter where we put (Jariq) he was going to be the smartest player on the football field,” said Coach Hooks of Scales’ intelligence. “He has such a high football IQ. It was like having an extension of the head coach on the field.

“For that reason, I’ve always known there’s something special about him.”

Hooks nearly missed on having Scales on his Seminole team though.

Had it not been for Hooks’ uncle and then OHS basketball coach Frankie Gathen and a chance car ride, Scales’ mind was solely set on basketball.

“Coach (Gathen) just told me not to limit myself to one sport,” recalled Scales of the ride home from offseason practice. “He really thought I had a future in football and he was right.”

Oh yeah, Gathen was.

So after not playing his sophomore year, Scales followed the advice of his basketball coach and hit the gridiron once again.

“We always knew he was a phenomenal player,” remembers Hooks who had a successful run during his first stint at Osceola with Scales was on the roster. “At the time he probably would have been our best running back. We chose to let him play multiple positions though and he always gave 100 percent.”

Scales didn’t have the flashy high school statistics nor was he the biggest or the fastest, so recruiters weren’t beating down his door.

What he did have though was Hooks in his corner.

Hooks reached out to his alma mater and then SAU head coach Bill Keopple.

It took some convincing but Hooks was up to the task.

“Keopple told me ‘Coach, (Jariq) just isn’t that fast’,” recalled Hooks of the conversation. “My reply was ‘Coach, I’m telling you with all the money in the bank I’d bet on this kid. He’s going to make it.”

Keopple listened and offered Scales the opportunity to walk on.

That was 2019 and Scales was listed as a wide receiver on the Mulerider roster.

COVID forced cancellation of the 2020 season and the offseason prompted a move to running back. As Scales remembers, he was “one of 10 or 12 slotted in that position.”

Through attrition, the number was whittled to about four and Scales shined enough to get his taste as RB 1.

In his debut, Scales rushed for 168 yards and 10 games later, he had cemented his place in the Mulerider record book. His single season rushing total of 1,476 yards is best among freshmen in SAU history.

“During that 2019 year, I spent a lot of my time just trying to watch and learn,” said Scales of his preparation for the role. “The more I watched, the more I realized ‘I can do that’.

“Those players provided the blueprint and I just built upon it.”

Yes he did and Scales followed with consecutive 1,000 yard seasons.

Following the 2021 campaign, SAU welcomed Smiley as its head coach and though having not seen any film on Scales, Smiley had definitely heard about the star running back.

“All I needed to know about Jariq was finding out he played the entire 2021 season with a torn meniscus,” said Smiley. “That definitely says a lot about him as a player and teammate.

“He’s just a complete running back,” continued Smiley whose squads have posted a 24-10 mark in his three seasons. “It’s more than that though. He is such a smart young man – on and off the field.”

There’s that adjective again – smart – certainly the one characteristic both Hooks and Smiley continually highlighted.

Scales piled up the stats, including becoming the school’s all-time leading rusher in late September 2024. He surpassed the mark of 3,842 set by Mark Johnson in 2013. His achievements on the field and in the classroom are numerous, including earning All-American honors academically and athletically.

“I could go on and on about Jariq,” said Smiley, “but the one thing is he is just a great young man. Always a smile on his face, always wanting to learn and willing to do anything to help his team.”

Smiley even called on Scales to return punts – a position he had never played before on the collegiate level.

Challenge accepted. And again, challenge met.

The senior returned 17 punts for 287 yards – a near 17-yard average.

“I have no doubt,” replied Smiley when asked if Scales will have an opportunity at the next level.

The SAU coach likened Scales to Mewelde Moore, a former Tulane University player when Smiley was on staff there.

“Like Mewelde, Jariq’s smart, understands the game and has a great football mind,” said Smiley comparing the two while emphasizing that Moore had a professional career with the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts.

With his college career behind him, Scales’ focus now is to improve his draft stock.

He has enrolled at the APEC Training Center in Fort Worth, Texas where he is pursuing improvement in his measurables – specifically his 40-yard dash time.

“Bigger, faster, stronger,” said Scales of his goals. “It’s just like a job; eight hours a day.”

Scales just completed his first week at the center which also caters to professional athletes – most notably Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The training doesn’t come without a cost though and it carries a $10,000 price tag for the 8-12 week program.

“It’s an investment,” said Scales. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe I could get to the NFL.”

And maybe that college coach is right, too. The number five means prosperity and Scales will find it in the NFL.

Scales and his family are still raising money to meet the cost of the training and if anyone is willing to contribute, please call Jariq or his dad Fred Scales at (870) 822-0817 or (870) 822-9149.