September 4th, 2015. A day that I will never forget and one that will haunt me until the day that I die. It was a football Friday night in the small town of Opp, Alabama. The whole town was packed into Channel-Lee Stadium to watch us play our first region game against the Hillcrest-Evergreen Jaguars and the atmosphere was extraordinary. I remember how nervous yet focused I was during pre-game and all the butterflies that were in my stomach warming up. My pre-game was the same as it was every Friday night, I stretched, went through my drills, prayed with my brother, and then got hyped to go to war with my boys. The first couple plays re-play vividly through my head every time this game is brought up to me. We went on defense first against their hefty offensive line and speedy skill guys, I dug my cleats into the grass alongside my long time best friend,Ty White, and gave the call to my guys.
The first play was a dropped snap by the quarterback in which they retained possession, and the second play gets me emotional every time. They bring three receivers out to my left and a running back in the backfield, during my film study in the week Hillcrest was notorious for throwing a pop route right behind the linebackers, so when the ball was snapped I was there and moments later I jump the route and intercept it. I burst with what speed I have around the lead block of our corner, Reggie Thompson, and get momentum up the sideline. As I approach the 20 yard line I lower my head to hit a defender and feel the worst pain of my life as I am knocked out of bounds.
I managed to persuade my trainer to allow me to continue playing but on the first play of our next drive, I dropped to the turf. Little did I know, it would be the last time I ever touched the field in an Opp Bobcat jersey. I remember how heartbroken I was as I cried in the front seat of my mom's car when I was told my ACL was possibly torn.It's something no athlete wants to hear in their career. I had surgery weeks after that and was put out of my senior year of high school. I lost all contact with college coaches and was even told I'd be lucky to ever land a spot on a college football team. And there for a while I believed them but pursued a comeback through months of rough physical therapy and training.
As January rolled around, I sill had zero offers but continued on a hard path to obtain one. In mid-January I received a letter in the mail awarding me my first offer to play ball in college at Huntingdon in Montgomery, Alabama. I was overwhelmed with tears of joy as I remembered all that I had overcome to get here. I now currently reside at Huntingdon College and play a game that I was told I'd never play again. This just goes to show that you can overcome even the biggest the biggest mountains. In order to get to the top, you must start climbing first.
