COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Change is nothing new for Jack St. Fleur.

The Saint John's University senior safety is originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but moved to San Diego to live with siblings in the Navy.

He then moved with them to Connecticut when he was a junior in high school, before returning to San Diego and graduating from Christian Unified High School. From there, it was on to Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, California, then to Minot State in North Dakota – a state he saw for the first time when he arrived prior to the start of football practice.

"All that moving around really helped me mature," St. Fleur said. "It taught me to take advantage of every moment I had in a given place because I never knew how long it might last. And I learned pretty quickly how to adjust to new situations."

However, St. Fleur – who transferred to SJU prior to the start of last season – said he's found a home in Collegeville.

"This is the first time since I started playing football that I'm also thinking about what life looks like after," the strategic communication studies major said. "That's kind of groundbreaking for me. As a 17-year-old, sometimes the sport is all your focused on. As you mature that changes. You're still putting everything you have into it, and you're working hard to be successful. But you see there's a lot more out there in the world too.

"This place – and the education you get here - really helped open my eyes to that."

Which isn't to say St. Fleur – who also drew recruiting interest from a number of schools while at Saddleback – isn't thriving on the football field for the Johnnies.

The 6-foot, 210-pound senior saw extensive action in all 12 of his team's games a year ago, finishing sixth on the team with 39 tackles while also recording an interception and two forced fumbles.

He picked right up where he left off in last Saturday's 49-0 season-opening victory over Minnesota-Morris at Clemens Stadium – recording five tackles and returning a third-quarter interception 40 yards for a touchdown.

His performance earned him MIAC defensive player of the week honors.

"At the strong safety spot he plays, you have to be physical and you have to be a good tackler," said SJU head coach Gary Fasching '81, whose team (1-0) opens MIAC play when it travels to St. Paul to face Hamline (1-0) at 1 p.m. this Saturday (Sept. 20) at Klas Field. 

"Jack brings all that, and he's a very high energy player. Even in practice his motor is always going. He's also put in a lot of work. He's always down here watching film, and that's helped him develop a really good understanding of our defense."

St. Fleur was not unfamiliar with the Johnnie program before making the decision to transfer. He'd looked at SJU coming out of high school, thanks in part to his high school coach – Danny Mitchell – who'd coached former Johnnie All-American quarterback Jackson Erdmann '19 with the Vienna Vikings of the European League of Football.

"He was big on never shutting down any opportunity, regardless of the division, and he knew a lot about Saint John's," St. Fleur said.

"So I knew about the rich tradition here. Then after my year at Minot, a lot of members of my class were transferring, and we were talking to each other about what schools we were hearing from. One of my good friends, (wide receiver) Zach Roebuck, who's also here now (though sitting out this season after an injury last spring), told me Saint John's had reached out to him. So I asked him if he could help get me reconnected. Then I came on a visit and loved it here."

Away from field, St. Fleur – who spent this past summer in Central Minnesota - is exploring a number of post-graduation options.

First, though, there is a final season to complete. And he's focused on making it as successful as possible for both he and his team.

"I just want to walk away knowing we finished the job," St. Fleur said. 

"There have been a lot of great players here the past few years who set us up to be in the position we're in. Now the next step is to make a deep playoff run, which is something we haven't really done the last few seasons. That's what we're working toward."