The road to becoming a Red Raider team captain amongst 15 of his peers started for Jax Welch with a simple conversation with his now teammate – but longtime best friend – Des Smith. Originally playing defensive back and secondary spots, Welch was at Odessa Permian with Smith during high school.

Welch's plan from the beginning was to work his way through school and that's it. One day, Smith and Welch ran into each other in his first semester at Texas Tech during finals time.

"He goes, 'hey, dude. Come walk-on,'" Welch said. "So, I tried out in the spring and now here I am about to be a junior. I'm old now so it's been a little while," Welch said laughing.

Welch's relationship with Smith is described as a brotherly bond. The two Permian Panthers have known each other since both of their younger days and have developed their relationship more in Lubbock.