JOURNAL SPORTS
Sam Greer has graduated with honors from Byrd High School after finishing his high school football career with a senior season filled with accomplishments.
Wednesday, one more big one got added to his resume.
Greer was named as one of 82 members of the 2025 National Football Foundation Team of Distinction. Chosen from a pool of 3,500 scholar-athletes identified by the nationwide NFF Chapter Network, the Team of Distinction includes elite members of high school football’s Class of 2025.
Greer owns a 4.69 GPA and is a National Honor Society member, an AP Scholar with Distinction, and made the LHSAA Composite All-Academic Team. On the field, Greer was first team All-District, the co-Defensive MVP in District 1-5A, first team Shreveport-Bossier Journal All-Metro, and honorable mention Class 5A All-State.
He broke Byrd’s single-season tackles record, making a staggering 136 stops as the Yellow Jackets reached the Division I Select state quarterfinals and nearly upset top-seeded Alexandria Senior High, a team that reached the state finals.
Due to his academic excellence and leadership skills, Greer was chosen as a Top Jacket by the faculty. Top Jackets are elite seniors who serve as mentors for the freshman class and as ambassadors for Byrd High School.
The only other Louisiana player honored was Desmond Beasley, a defensive back at Salmen High School in Slidell.
Part of the NFF’s mission to promote the scholar-athlete ideal, the initiative honors the top high school football players from across the country for their all-around excellence—while also highlighting the vital work of the NFF Chapter Network at the grassroots level.
Criteria to make the team include (but are not limited to) academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement. Each chapter is limited to one honoree, distinguishing them as the top scholar-athlete from all the high schools covered by the chapter. The S.M. McNaughton NFF Chapter based in Shreveport covers all of north and central Louisiana in its annual Scholar-Athlete recognition program that awards about $10,000 annually since 1980 to superior senior competitors.
“Each year, the NFF Team of Distinction represents the very best of what high school football has to offer — young men who lead with character, perform with excellence, and give back to their communities,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. “These 82 honorees exemplify the scholar-athlete ideal that is at the heart of our mission, and we are proud to celebrate their achievements. We are equally grateful to our NFF Chapter Network leaders, whose tireless efforts ensure that the values of football continue to thrive at the grassroots level.”
Since 1954, the NFF Chapters have played an integral role in supporting and promoting the game of football at the amateur level while honoring the top scholar-athletes in their local areas.
The centerpiece of the NFF Chapter Network’s efforts are the annual chapter awards banquets, which recognize more than 3,500 of the nation’s top scholar-athletes and distribute more than
$1 million in scholarships.
Among the 82 Team of Distinction honorees, 40 states are represented. The group has a 4.15 average GPA and includes 74 team captains, 44 All-State selections, 10 valedictorians and 54 National Honor Society members.