Lawrence High quarterback Truman Juelsgaard slings a pass over Olathe East defender Joe Zinn during the first quarter on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021 at Lawrence High School. (Photo by Nick Krug/Special to the Journal-World)

When Lawrence High senior Truman Juelsgaard was first asked to play quarterback back in sixth grade, he cried — but they weren’t tears of joy.

His friend Jet Dineen — now the starting QB at Free State — had just been taken off the field after suffering a concussion during a Hurricanes youth football game. And the pressure of hearing his name called as the next man up added to his emotions.

But the biggest reason for the tears might have been that the move to QB temporarily ended his dreams of becoming a slot receiver.

Think Wes Welker, Julian Edelman or Cole Beasley. That was Juelsgaard’s aspiration all the way up until sixth grade. And then, in 2015, that one moment changed everything.

Dineen missed the rest of that season for the Hurricanes because of the concussion, and Juelsgaard played QB all the way to the end. The team won a lot of games and wound up winning the tournament title, as well.

“It was so much fun,” Juelsgaard said. “And the support I had from everyone in the Hurricanes family was incredible. Even Jet, on his way off the field that day, told me, ‘You got this, Truman.'”

He did, indeed. And the 6-foot senior who has the Lions off to a 2-0 start this season has been playing QB ever since.

That included two years at Billy Mills Middle School. And he was a freshman QB at LHS and played as the junior varsity quarterback as a sophomore.

Asked recently why he fell in love with the position, Juelsgaard said he enjoyed being in the middle of the action.

“It’s such a mental game,” he said. “Seeing how everything comes together, reading the coverages, reading the linebackers and just being a leader out there and trying to make plays for my teammates is just a lot of fun. Also, who doesn’t love touching the ball on every play?”

As a junior, Juelsgaard was the backup QB behind two-year starter Jackson Dooley, who is now a freshman at Benedictine College. The two are still best friends, and Juelsgaard said there was never a time when he sat back and was content to let Dooley be the top dog.

“It was a competition every day,” Juelsgaard said. “That made me better and it made him better, too. I loved learning from Jackson. He was such a good mentor.”

With his buddy handling the QB duties, Juelsgaard became known as a hard-hitting safety for the LHS defense. Still, he always kept his eye on what his senior season would be like, with him calling the plays and throwing the passes.

“I think I was just a born competitor,” he said. “Ever since I can even remember, since I was probably 11 years old, I always wanted to be a Lion.”

Because of that, he’s made the most of his time at LHS, playing not just football, but basketball and baseball as well.

That was one of the things that stood out to first-year LHS coach Clint Bowen when he took over the program in the offseason. Bowen, who is an LHS alumnus, said he was pumped to see that the QB for his first year was a young man who bleeds red and black.

“He’s just a traditional, old-school kid who still plays three sports and plays them all well,” Bowen said of Juelsgaard, who plays outfielder and point guard in his other sports. “That’s pretty cool. He’s been a great leader for us, and he’s very competitive.”

Juelsgaard credits his dad, Joel, for most of that mindset, but he said he also feels lucky to be able to learn from Bowen about what it takes to be both a good football player and reach the next level.

“Coach Bowen always says a coach is either going to take an overachiever or a freak,” Juelsgaard said. “And I’m not really in that freak category, so I try to be an overachiever, a guy who’s going to make plays and compete his butt off to beat the guy in front of him.”

Next up for Juelsgaard and the Lions is a home matchup with Shawnee Mission West at 7 p.m. Friday.