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Get Scouted Scouting CareersChris Johnson heard the calling.
Growing up in a small, impoverished town in Northeast Arkansas, he wanted more out of life. Son of a single mom, he also wanted to set an example for his younger brother and sister.
Johnson, a former standout linebacker at Rivercrest High School, hoped to play football last fall at Henderson State in Arkadelphia, Ark. He wanted to become the first member of his family to attend college. However, the NCAA Division II school had used up all of its allotted scholarships for the freshman class.
Instead of sitting around and waiting for another opportunity, the former National Scouting Report football prospect joined the National Guard.
“Once I became a soldier everything in my life changed,” Johnson wrote in his NSR personal message to college coaches. “As I trained and learned, I reflected on my life and where I once was and realized actually how fortunate I was. I come from a small and impoverished town in Arkansas that doesn’t have many avenues of escaping the below poverty level lifestyle. It is so easy to get caught up in the wrong activities because there is not much positive leadership around for the youth to model themselves after and grow to do positive things. I now understand that that has to change with haste.
“As a soldier, I am now doing what it takes to be the leader that my community needs to excel and grow. I now see what hard work and dedication brings because the day I became a soldier I felt a sense of accomplishment like I have never felt before. I felt the responsibility that comes with being in this uniform and how I must carry myself to a higher standard because I am a reflection of the United States Armed Forces. I became a man there and was given purpose. I am aware of the risks as well as the rewards that come with being a soldier now. That is why I take what I do and the time I have very seriously now.”
After finishing basic training in September, Johnson still had high hopes of playing college football and earning a scholarship. He hoped to follow in the footsteps of former Rivercrest High School football star Cortez Kennedy, a 12-year defensive tackle with the Seattle Seahawks, who recently was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“In the next phase of my life, I want to go to college and complete a degree program,” he wrote in his personal message. “I would be the first of my family to do this and it will inspire my younger brother and sister. As their big brother, I am watched and imitated by them constantly and want to give them the best possible person I can be so that they will be imitating greatness and point them in the right direction of life. I will show my mother that all of the hard work she put in and sacrifices she made for us is appreciated beyond limits and I will continue to make her as proud as that day on the parade deck when she watched me march as a soldier for the first time. She looked at me differently that day. She looked at me as a man and not as a child. That was a defining moment for me.
“If given the opportunity to go to college, I will give my all to ensure success. I will represent my learning institution with pride and go beyond the expectations of what they want their students to be. I want this not only for myself, but for my community as well. I gladly take the challenge being that model citizen, student, son, family member, and friend. In conclusion, the opportunity to go to college means so much more than just classes and college parties to me. It means a chance to make a better quality of life and a stronger community for us all. If I am blessed with the chance to make this dream come true I will make sure that the success is recycled.”
With the help of NSR National Football Director Larry Perrin, Johnson’s dream became reality. Johnson recently enrolled at Henderson State, where he joined Perrin’s son, Zach, on the football team. Because the team had no athletic scholarship money, he committed to joining the ROTC program next year and will receive non-athletic scholarship money.
“We are so grateful for the help from the Perrins,” said Johnson’s mother, Cornelia. “They are family.”
The feeling is mutual, Perrin said.
“We are so proud of Chris,” he said. “Yes, we are family.”
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.