Photo credit: Phil Prost

Playing under the Friday night lights is every high school football player’s favorite time of year. Some players aspire to continue on Saturdays in the sacred territory of college football. I knew from my first year in high school that I wanted to play in college, and I kept my eyes on that goal.

Since the start of my football career, I’ve never been the biggest or the strongest, which presented me with a ton of roadblocks. Many coaches often overlooked me because of my size, and I frequently had to go the extra mile to prove myself. 

Being recruited to play in college was a lot harder than some of the other guys who were taller and bigger than me, but I continued to work hard and prove myself. I stuck to the process and got to work, and my recruitment started to take off.

Although this took a lot of hard work, I could not have done it alone. Ever since my freshman year, my position coach, Coach Wiggins, has been my biggest mentor on the field and in the weight room. Not only was he my football coach, but he was also my track coach in the spring and a big leader for me. He was a mentor in many ways, such as staying after practice to get some extra work with me to opening the weight room on the weekends so we could work out together.

With his help and the work I put in on my own, recruitment became a little easier. I felt like I was able to move closer to my goal of playing college football. Come my senior year, I feel like it was all happening. I started picking up offers and going on a lot of college visits, and I realized that I’m just a step away from my goal.

The people at Albion were amazing and genuine, and I knew I would rather play for their coaches than any other school I had been considering. I already knew a decent group of people who were also going there, which made the transition feel even more natural. The head coach and track coach were both incredibly supportive of me continuing both sports, and everyone I met was open to helping out and giving back to the program. On the football side, Albion has a smaller team with a type of offense I really like, where I could make a difference and not just be a number on a roster.

After committing to Albion, it has felt like a weight off my shoulders. I finally have my chance to play, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. Throughout this process, it has taught me to keep my head down and work hard but also that it is ok to lean on some support. If I could recommend anything to young athletes, it would be to really lock in and let the work pay itself off, because it is the best feeling ever when it does.