Triple Threat Sportscast crosses paths with one of Maplewood’s most accomplished football legends during Friday night’s Maplewood vs. Hillsboro matchup

Written by Triple Threat D

Friday night at Maplewood High School was about more than the action taking place on the field.

While Triple Threat Sportscast was on site for Hillsboro’s 16-6 victory over Maplewood on Sept. 11, the crew had an opportunity to meet someone whose football journey began in Nashville before carrying him to the University of Alabama, the National Football League and eventually the College Football Hall of Fame.

That man was E. J. Junior.

For a program with its own rich football history, seeing Junior back at Maplewood connected the Panthers of today with one of the most accomplished athletes to ever walk the school’s halls.

A Nashville Football Story Starts at Maplewood

Ester James Junior III was born on Dec. 8, 1959, in Salisbury, North Carolina, before growing up in Nashville.

He attended Maplewood High School, where his athletic ability quickly separated him from his peers.

The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame credits Junior with a decorated high school career that included All-American recognition, All-State, All-County and All-City honors. He was also part of Maplewood’s 1975 state runner-up football team and state championship track teams in 1975 and 1976.

But Junior’s accomplishments went beyond athletics.

The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame also notes that he served as Maplewood’s student body president, graduated fifth in his class and earned the Hume Award.

Football, however, would eventually take him far beyond Nashville.

From Maplewood to Alabama

Junior’s next stop was the University of Alabama, where he played for legendary head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant from 1977 through 1980.

Wearing No. 39 and lining up at defensive end, Junior became a major part of one of college football’s dominant programs.

One of his memorable moments came in Alabama’s 1979 season opener against Georgia Tech when he intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown.

That season ended with Alabama finishing 12-0 and capturing the national championship.

It was the Crimson Tide’s second consecutive national championship with Junior on the roster after Alabama also claimed the title in 1978.

By the time Junior’s Alabama career ended, his résumé included:

• National championships in 1978 and 1979
• Three consecutive First-Team All-SEC selections from 1978 through 1980
• Unanimous First-Team All-America honors in 1980
• SEC Lineman of the Year honors in 1980
• A spot as a finalist for the Lombardi Award
• 190 career tackles
• 21 career sacks
• 10 career forced fumbles

Alabama posted a remarkable 44-4 record during Junior’s four seasons, including a 28-game winning streak from 1978 through 1980.

His collegiate career placed him among the best defensive players in the country and positioned the former Maplewood standout for an opportunity at the next level.

A Top-Five NFL Draft Pick

That opportunity came quickly.

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Junior with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft.

Think about that journey for a moment.

From Maplewood High School in Nashville to Alabama, and then becoming one of the first five players selected in an NFL Draft.

Junior went on to play 13 NFL seasons and appeared in 170 regular-season games.

His NFL career included:

• St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, 1981-1988
• Miami Dolphins, 1989-1991
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1992
• Seattle Seahawks, 1992-1993

After playing defensive end at Alabama, Junior spent his professional career primarily at linebacker.

His best individual stretch came with the Cardinals.

Junior earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 1984 and was selected to consecutive Pro Bowls in 1984 and 1985.

His recorded NFL career totals include 36.5 sacks and 12 interceptions.

Overcoming Adversity

Junior’s professional career was not without difficult moments.

In 1983, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle suspended Junior for the first four games of the season under the league’s drug policy following a cocaine-related case.

It became a significant setback in his career.

But Junior returned to football and responded with the best individual season of his NFL career the following year.

In 1984, he earned First-Team All-Pro recognition and his first Pro Bowl selection. He returned to the Pro Bowl again in 1985.

Junior ultimately remained in the NFL through the 1993 season, completing a professional playing career that lasted 13 years.

From NFL Player to Coach and Mentor

Retirement did not end Junior’s relationship with football.

He moved into coaching and player development, beginning with a role coaching linebackers with the Seattle Seahawks in 1994.

Junior later worked with the Miami Dolphins in player development from 1996 through 1998.

His football journey also included coaching opportunities with the Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars and Rhein Fire of NFL Europe.

Away from professional football, Junior worked with youth programs in Miami associated with former NBA star Alonzo Mourning, another chapter in a career that increasingly focused on teaching and mentoring.

Moving Into the College Coaching Ranks

Junior eventually took that experience into college football.

He coached linebackers at Southwest Baptist University beginning in 2006 and later moved into the program’s defensive coordinator role.

In 2009, Junior accepted his first collegiate head-coaching position at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.

He remained Central State’s head coach through the 2013 season.

Junior returned to the college coaching ranks at Delaware State in 2015, serving as defensive line coach and director of player development.

Following the 2017 season, Delaware State also appointed Junior as interim head football coach.

His coaching journey continued.

Official school records later list Junior as a member of the Allen University coaching staff, including work with the defensive line and linebackers, before he joined Clark Atlanta University as its inside linebackers coach for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

That means Junior has experienced the game from almost every angle: high school standout, college All-American, NFL first-round pick, Pro Bowler, NFL coach, player-development executive, college assistant and college head coach.

A Career Recognized by Multiple Halls of Fame

Junior’s achievements have received recognition at nearly every level of the sport.

He was inducted into the Nashville Public School Hall of Fame in 2006.

He entered the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame in 2007.

The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in 2010.

The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame followed in 2012.

Then came one of college football’s biggest honors.

On March 11, 2020, the National Football Foundation announced Junior as a member of the 2020 College Football Hall of Fame class.

Because the 2020 ceremony was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Junior and the rest of the 2020 class were formally inducted alongside the 2021 class on Dec. 7, 2021.

For the former Maplewood Panther, it placed the highest stamp yet on a college career that had started more than four decades earlier.

More Than a Football Career

Junior’s connection to Nashville has remained an important part of his story.

His official biographical information lists his wife, Yolanda, and eight children.

Now 66, Junior has spent most of his life around the game as a player, coach, administrator and mentor.

But before Alabama, before the NFL, before the Pro Bowls and before the Hall of Fame, there was Maplewood.

Back Where the Journey Began

That is what made Friday night different.

This was not simply a former NFL player attending another football game.

This was a Maplewood alumnus returning to the place that helped launch a journey that eventually included two Alabama national championships, three First-Team All-SEC selections, unanimous All-America honors, a top-five NFL Draft selection, 13 NFL seasons, two Pro Bowls, First-Team All-Pro recognition and induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

For the current generation of Maplewood players, Junior represents something tangible.

Someone who once wore Maplewood colors and walked those same halls reached the highest levels of the game.

For Nashville football, his career remains an important part of the city’s history.

And for Triple Threat Sportscast, having the opportunity to meet Junior while covering Maplewood and Hillsboro provided one of those moments that goes beyond wins, losses and final scores.

Sometimes covering high school football means watching the players trying to become the next great name.

And sometimes, standing on that same sideline, you run into one of the men who already became one.

From Maplewood to Alabama.

From Alabama to the NFL.

From the NFL to the sidelines.

And eventually into the College Football Hall of Fame.

E. J. Junior’s football journey started in Nashville, and on Friday night, part of that journey came back home.

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