From Disney to dominance: How Jared Street hopes to ignite Independence football
The new quarterback at Independence High School, rising junior Jared Street, flies to Orlando, Florida, twice a year to get coached by the best quarterback ever from Independence High School.
And Chris Leak, a former national college football champion with the Florida Gators, told Street one thing when he found out Street was leaving West Cabarrus High School after his sophomore year to play at Leak’s alma mater.
“He told me to bring back the old Independence,” Street said. “He said, ‘Go get some rings and just leave a legacy.’”
Leak played at Independence from 1999-2002 and, with the help of then-head coach Tom Knotts, turned the Patriots from a good team into a dynasty that North Carolina had never seen.
From the start of his sophomore year until he finished playing high school, Leak lost one game and won three straight championships. He won at least one national player of the year award as a sophomore, junior and senior, when Parade Magazine named him as America’s best.
And Leak helped kickstart a 109-game win streak at a school that would eventually win seven straight championships, a run that included back-to-back titles for D.J. McFadden, another former Patriots quarterback and the guy who will coach Street now in Mint Hill.
At a school with a litany of great QB1s, Leak thinks Street is ready to be next man up.
Street does, too.
“I’m ready,” he said. “The mentoring I’ve gotten from my trainer and head coach helps so much. They both have done it at a high level. They’ve taught me to be myself and don’t try to be like anyone else.”
Street’s mother went to high school with Leak’s older brother, another high school All-American named C.J. Leak, and when Street’s parents found out Chris Leak was training in Florida, they thought it was worth the expense to send their child to Disney World at least twice a year to work with a guy who some publications have called the best high school quarterback ever.
“I started working with Jared at a very young age, since 2019,” Leak said, “helping set his early foundation. Jared’s development has been extraordinary due to his work ethic and dedication.”
Leak feels that Street is ready for a step-up in competition and expectation. So does McFadden.
“Street’s good, man,” McFadden said last week. “The most impressive thing was how he came in and he took control of the team and immediately stepped into that leadership role. Once kids see that you can (throw) it, they’ll automatically gravitate toward you.”
Independence is nationally ranked in preseason and plays in the state’s toughest conference, the Meck Power 6, which includes five teams that have won a combined 17 state championships, including 16 titles in the past 24 years.
At West Cabarrus, Street played on a team that finished 1-9 his freshman year and 5-6 as sophomore. In two seasons, Street has thrown for 2,054 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Now, Street will be replacing Justin Little at quarterback in Mint Hill. Little threw for 7,859 yards in his career, good for seventh all-time in Mecklenburg County history. Little’s 74 career touchdowns ranks 10th.
“He’s smart,” McFadden said of Street. “He’s picked it up quick. He can make every throw. Now, the only thing I tease him about is, ‘You gotta win.’ I’ve been spoiled with Justin Little and how he managed this offense. It’ll be interesting to see how Street does in our first game and our first scrimmage.”
McFadden’s team has a tough non-conference schedule, playing at S.C. power Gaffney to start the season Aug. 22 and then hosting nationally ranked Hough on Aug. 29. And then the Patriots have games with three straight playoff contenders — Charlotte Christian, Palisades and Lake Norman — before jumping into its conference play, which almost seems like a regional championship game every week.
On Friday, Independence will host Weddington in a 7:30 p.m. scrimmage. Weddington beat Independence in the 2023 N.C. 4A state semifinals and went on to win the state title. Weddington reached the 2024 state semifinals last December.
“This team reminds of our 2023 team,” McFadden said of Street and his current Patriots group. “We’re young and will play lots of juniors coming up from (junior varsity). We’ve got to replace four (players) on (offensive line) and three receivers. So those first two weeks will be big. The one thing I do worry about is, ‘How do we respond mentally?’ Even if we start 0-2, or 2-0, how do we respond?”
The 2023 Independence team had a young, somewhat unproven QB in Little, who was a junior — as Street is now — and a bunch of new faces, including then-sophomore running back Jaden Jones, who burst onto the scene with 1,830 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Defensive stars Nick Reddish (Notre Dame commit) and Dallas Brannon (Virginia) were sophomores then, too.
And Jones and Reddish and Brannon are back this season as seniors. Street said that having that type of talent around him only makes his transition easier.
“Those guys push me to be better,” Street said. “And the whole defense and the whole offense push me to be better. I feel like I’m getting better every year, from my freshman to my sophomore and now my junior year.
“I feel like I’m ready.”
This story was originally published August 10, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
