What a journey. I started playing tackle football at the age of 5. I’ve always been one of the smallest players on the field but that never bothered me. In fact, I used it to my benefit. My dad coached me from when I was 5 years old until 8th grade, but he never pushed the sport on me and that’s probably why I grew to love it and excel. My parents both graduated from LSU so we bled Purple and Gold. I was a huge Tyrann Mathieu fan and what he could do on the field. People began calling me Honey Badger because I was small, had quick instincts never feared delivering a hit. I learned very quickly that playing in a game was just an extension of how hard I worked and developed during every practice. I don’t take my abilities for granted and always work hard to get better. That was put to the test when I broke my right femur in 3 places my 7th grade year making a tackle at practice. I was wheelchair bound for 3 months and then rehab for another 4-6 months but was back on the field the next season. Yes, I still have the titanium rod in my right leg.
I played on JV my Freshman season but was brought up to Varsity after my first 3 games as a Sophomore. I was also named Defensive Captain for both my Sophmore and Junior year which was a huge honor.
During my Junior season we had 2 coaching staff changes and 2 more after the season, but we just had to block out the noise and focus on what we could control on the field. I ended the season (9 games) with 106 tackles which was 1st in our District and 8th in the Region.
Going into my Senior year I made the difficult decision to transfer schools and was fortunate to find a great place, not only to play football, but also a great academic school at Zephyrhills Christian Academy. Ironically enough 4 other teammates of mine transferred to ZCA as well and 3 of us will finish our HS career together this year.
Academically I hold a 2.9 GPA. I’m currently retaking 2 English classes which, due to no one’s fault but my own, I failed previously. I am currently earning a 3.0 in each of those classes and my overall semester GPA is a 3.5. I have a strong interest in science and have been researching Sports Science degrees. I feel this may be a great course to pursue due to my love of both sports and science. I would also like to continue coaching youth football. I’ve had the opportunity to coach alongside my dad the last few seasons coaching 7/8U football. I’ve acquired over 300 hours of volunteer time doing so, and It’s been fun watching these kids begin their football journey just as I did nearly 13 years ago.
Statistic | 2023 Varsity Team | 2022 Varsity Team | 2021 Varsity Team |
---|---|---|---|
Assisted tackles | 30 | 45 | 14 |
Forced fumbles | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Pass break-ups | 2 | 1 | |
Recovered fumbles | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Sacks | 5.5 | 1 | 0 |
Solo tackles | 57 | 61 | 17 |
Tackles for a loss | 2.0 | 4 | 0 |
Interceptions | 1 | 1 | |
Games played | 9 | 10 |
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