By LORI LYONS, Journal Sports
Byrd senior linebacker Sam Greer was feeling good on a fine, cool, sunny Monday morning.
With school out for the Thanksgiving break, all Greer had to focus on was football and his team’s upcoming quarterfinal playoff game against Alexandria. And Greer was happy because his coach, Stacy Ballew, was happy that the team was still at work.
“Since I’ve been here Coach Ballew has preached to us every year, he tells us that we want to be practicing during Thanksgiving,” Greer said. “It’s pretty awesome, I think. It’s fun. It kind of separates you from the good programs from the really good programs.”
There also are things that separate the good student-athletes from the really good student athletes.
Greer is one of the latter. He is one of 21 Shreveport -Bossier area on the annual National Football Foundation McNaughton Chapter Preseason Scholar-Athlete Watch List. Nominees must have at least a 3.2 grade point average, have won all-district honors and be involved in extracurricular activities.
In the spring, one Watch List standout will receive a $1,000 college scholarship award, from those 14 recognized with a Griffin’s Game Ball presented weekly by KTBS and Southern Classic Chicken in honor of the late Bob Griffin, the longtime sports journalist who was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
Others will be among nominees for eight more $1,000 scholarships issued by the McNaughton Chapter.
The son of Nora and Jason Greer of Shreveport, Sam said he plans to attend LSU next fall to study business, with aspirations of attending law school in his future. The history buff also was named to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’ All-Academic Composite Team, which requires a 4.0 grade point average.
“I think I was pretty excited, honestly,” he said. “I value my education. It’s rewarding to see your hard work in the classroom start to play off. That level of hard work will really carry you far. Seeing your hard work come to fruition is just real nice.”
Greer also has seen much success on the football field after putting “all my chips in” on football when he got to high school. He said that when he and his buddies get together they just love watching the game, talking about the game and playing the game.
“I spend a lot of time working on my craft for football,” he said. “I work out a lot.”
The payoff is apparent. Last year the young linebacker amassed “only” 98 tackles as a Yellow Jacket.
“I was a little disappointed,” he said.
So this year he has racked up more than 100, along with five sacks – including a really big one against Woodlawn (Baton Rouge) two weeks ago that resulted in a game-changing fumble in the Jackets’ 20-0 first-round playoff shutout.
“I just love being around the ball every play, having the opportunity to make a play every time the offense runs up there,” he said. “It’s just fun. You fly around, make a lot of plays, make a lot of tackles.”
And now that it’s the playoffs and every game counts, Greer is making the most of every opportunity he has.
“You’ve got to,” he said. “You never know when it’s your last time.”
Contact Lori at sportslyons@gmail.com