Written by Lynette Norris
ECB Publishing, Inc.
On May 6, 2017, Lenorris Footman graduated cum laude from Alcorn State University. Majoring in criminal justice, he dedicated himself seriously to his studies and made the highest score on the school's Department of Criminal Justice senior exit exam.
He is also the leader and a standout quarterback for the Braves football team.
Jefferson Tiger football fans remember the 2011 State 1A Football Championship, with 11th grade honor student
Lenorris Footman as quarterback and his older brother, senior Alphonso Footman as running back/free safety, "the Footman Brothers of Tiger Football."
In 2014, college honor student Footman was again part of a championship team as back quarterback, when the Braves defeated the Southern University Jaguars for the SWAC Championhsip. A year later, while playing that same team, Footman broke the Alcorn record for most yards rushed by a quarterback in a single game, earning the title SWAC Player of the Year.
During the summer of 2015 when Footman was on summer break, the City of Monticello officially recognized his accomplishments when Councilman Gerrold Austin presented Footman with the Key to the City. The following year, in the summer of 2016, Footman was in the running for the Walter Payton Achievement Award, presented each year to one student from each of the two schools participating in the SWAC/MEAC Challenge. The requirements just to be nominated for this ward are that candidates be high achievers not only on the field but in the classroom as well.
A consistent theme throughout Footman's high school and college career has been that of excelling academically as well as athletically - a difficult task to pull off. It takes dedication, focus and hard work, but as Alcorn State University
notes on its website "
Lenorris Footman... of Monticello, Florida, has done an exceptional job of balancing the two."
Footman's own description of days spent going back and forth between daily practices, football film studies, lifting weights and going to class alternating with nights of homework and studying, may leave one wondering when he found time to sleep, but he managed to stay on top of things, and maintain a balance where he could excel in both the field and the classroom.
He credits his parents, Stephanie and Alphonso Footman Sr. for motivating him to always do his best. He comes from an enthusiastic sports family, where he and his brothers Alphonso Jr and Montrey Johnson played every sport except soccer. His mom was very involved in her children's athletic activities as a school volunteer, cheerleader sponsor and president of the Boosters Club, but scholwork was important too, perhaps even more so than athletics.
"Throughout the years, my parents have been a huge influence," said Footman. "They've always encouraged me to take my education seriously. I'm also self-motivated. My goal is to always be the best at no matter what I'm doing."
With his degree in hand, he still has one more year of football eligibility left at Alcorn, and hopes that during this upcoming season he can earn a chance to pursue a career as an NFL quarterback. His backup play is to pursue a career as a sky marshal. Either way, he will be flying high.
#FearTheBrave
