TAMPA, Fla. — Spring Football is a renewal of sorts for high school programs, getting them ready for the upcoming season.

For the past three years, this was Jared Watson’s rite of passage. But now, as a Berkeley Prep graduating senior, Watson can only watch from the sideline.

“It’s so weird,” Jared said. “I’ve been playing here for my entire high school career and just watching all the guys that I played with last year out there playing, you know, it’s a little sad.”

A big chapter of Jared’s life is over. But like any good book, he’s a real page turner. And his story is a compelling one.

“The thing about Jared, the team came first and it’s all about the team,” Berkeley Prep head coach Dominick Ciao said. “It’s hard to find those guys and if you’ve got a few of those guys, you’ve got a chance.”

Sometimes all you need is a chance. And this Berkeley Prep defensive lineman knows that better than most. A health scare his junior year taught him everything he needed to know about chances. Especially about getting a second one.

“I was feeling 100 percent fine,” Jared said. “I just rolled over in bed one night and felt a lump.”

That lump turned out to be lymphoma. Suddenly Jared’s world went from worrying about making a tackle and taking down a quarterback to battling cancer with chemotherapy treatments.

“It happened really fast, but we jumped on it early,” he said. “You kind of feel invincible when you’re younger like nothing can happen. And I was always a healthy kid, able to play sports, play football with no injuries and stuff like that.

“So it was a big shocker, but you’ve just got to confront it.”

Jared lost his hair, lost some weight. But kept thinking about his Berkeley brothers. Football helped him focus during recovery. And when he rang the bell after his final treatment, Jared experienced an entirely different kind of victory.

“His legacy will live forever,” Ciao said. “The most impressive thing is how Jared dealt with everything and I’m just really proud of him.”

Ciao isn’t the only one. Others took notice of Jared’s courageous battle. He won the prestigious Bill Minahan Award, an annual honor for a Hillsborough County player who exhibits grind, grit and gratitude. The award took on an extra special meaning because of Coach Ciao’s ties to Minahan.

“Having the honor to coach under Bill Minahan and be his assistant and really, I owe everything in my coaching career to him,” Ciao said. “Jared’s the perfect player for that award.”

Next up for Jared is college.

He’s headed to Emory University in Atlanta. And he’s bringing with him a perspective that will carry him throughout the rest of his life.

“You can really get through anything if you put your mind to it,” Jared said. “Four years of football and going through the cancer journey, I think all the lessons I’ve learned through that, I will just take everything that I learned with me.”