Seneca Valley football’s Jayden Price, a Toledo commit, back to anchor Raiders’ secondary
-
Seneca Valley football players Zach Mashuda, left, Jayden Price and Landon Davis pose for a group photo during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca Valley football players Zach Mashuda, front, and Landon Davis, back left, Coach Ron Butschle and Jayden Price pose for a group photo during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Butler Eagle sports reporter Derek Pyda interviews Seneca Valley football player Jayden Price during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca valley football players Zach Mashuda, left, Jayden Price and Landon Davis pose for a group photo during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Butler Eagle sports reporter Derek Pyda interviews Seneca Valley football player Jayden Price during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Butler Eagle sports reporter Derek Pyda interview Seneca Valley football player Jayden Price during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca Valley football player Landon Davis poses for a headshot during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Butler Eagle sports reporter Derek Pyda interviews Seneca Valley football player Jayden Price during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca Valley football player Jayden Price poses for a headshot during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Butler Eagle sports reporter Derek Pyda interviews Seneca Valley football player Jayden Price during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca valley football player Landon Davis poses for a shot during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Butler Eagle sports reporter Derek Pyda interviews Seneca Valley football player Jayden Price during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Butler Eagle sports reporter Derek Pyda interviews Seneca Valley football player Jayden Price during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca Valley football coach Ron Butschle poses for a headshot during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca Valley football player Zach Mashuda poses for a headshot during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca valley football player Zach Mashuda poses for a headshot during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca valley football player Jayden Price poses for a headshot during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca Valley football player Jayden Price poses for a headshot during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
The Butler Eagle podcast team make social media videos of Seneca Valley football players during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
The Butler Eagle podcast team make social media videos of Seneca Valley during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca Valley football players get social media videos made during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca Valley football players get social media videos done during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
-
Seneca Valley football players get social media videos done during the Butler Eagle Football Media Day at Butler High School on Friday, August 9. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle (8/9/2024)
The season Jayden Price turned in on the gridiron last year was even more impressive considering he played the entire season with an injury.
In the first game against Penn Hills, the Seneca Valley cornerback fell hard to the turf while making a tackle and immediately felt discomfort in his shoulder.
"It really hurt, but I didn't think twice about it and just kept playing," Price said.
Price dealt with the pain and did not have surgery on his torn labrum until January. Playing at less than 100% physically did not keep him from owning his area of the field.
"There were teams that didn't test him at all," SV coach Ron Butschle said. "On average, he probably saw one pass thrown his way per game.
"When Jayden first began starting as a sophomore, we knew he was athletic and fast, the question was could he be physical and tough enough. He developed into as physical a cornerback as you're going to find in high school."
Price (6-foot-3, 190 pounds), who committed in June to play at the University of Toledo, will move to safety this season. He welcomes the switch as he enters his third year as a starter for the Raiders.
"I'm a quiet kid, and playing safety, I need to be more vocal,“ he said. ”It took me a while to adjust, but I'll be playing safety at Toledo and it will be good for me to get some experience at the position.
"I can get pretty physical, but I'm not as strong now because I wasn't able to lift weights for seven months. My strength will come back."
Price had 33 tackles, three passes defensed, one sack and one interception last year. With him changing positions, it will be much more difficult for teams to avoid him.
"He'll be playing in the middle of the field, and hopefully he'll get more opportunities to make plays," Butschle said. "He's very good against the run."
Price also received interest from Akron, Buffalo, Army, Air Force, Lehigh, Cornell and Yale, among other schools. A strong relationship formed with Toledo's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Ross Watson. In doing so, he will reunite with former Seneca Valley teammate Chris D'Appolonia, now a sophomore linebacker with Toledo.
"They can develop me," said Price, who hopes to aid SV in a return to the WPIAL playoffs. The Raiders last qualified in 2021.
"We have most of our starters back on defense, and I think we can be really good, a solid team that can compete with the teams in (Class) 6A," he said.
![](/wp-content/themes/bte/images/butlereagle/sportsNewsletter.png)