Persistence pays off
Burdette visits local fifth grade class
Always work hard and never give up.
That was the message when Ole Miss freshman Quintavius
Burdette visited fifth graders at Senatobia Middle School last week.
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| credit: Ole Miss Athletics |
Burdette moved to Oxford right after his high school
graduation to participate in the team’s offseason conditioning program and it
didn’t take long for coaches to take notice of his work ethic. Strength Coach
Paul Jackson, who spends more time with the team than anyone during the
offseason, said that Burdette was ahead of many of his fellow freshman in both
the weight room and the film room, adding that he thought Burdette would be
able to play quickly.
And play quickly he did. Burdette, a defensive back who also
plays special teams for the Rebels, registered the first tackle of the Hugh
Freeze-era at Ole Miss during the season opening kickoff against the University
of Central Arkansas.
Nothing comes easy
But, as he told the students last week, things didn’t always
come easy for him.
Burdette said that he was a kid in middle school who would
always get into mischief.
“I didn’t really worry about school or my grades until after
ninth grade,” Burdette said. “I was the kid who sat in class having fun and
joking around. Grades just weren’t that important to me.”
Burdette made an instant impact for the Warriors on the
field playing running back as a freshman in high school. It was after that
season that Burdette said someone pulled him aside and told him that he could
be good enough to play football in college but that he needed to straighten up
and keep working on his grades in order to do so.
From that point on Burdette said that he made sure to work
as hard in the classroom as he did on the field. His hard work paid off, as he
was inducted into the Senatobia High School Beta Club as a senior. He also
earned a 3.8 grade point average.
Senatobia High School head football coach and athletic
director Phil Oakley had high words of praise for Burdette when he signed with
the Rebels in February.
“I think his smarts and his speed are his biggest
attributes, as well as his leadership ability. He’s been a good leader for us,
even before he was a senior. He gets his books. He minds his manners. You’re
not going to find him roaming the streets at 12:30 or 1 at night. He’s just a
good all-around kid. I think Coach Freeze saw that in him. He’s going to be a plus
for the program down there,” Oakley said. “It means a lot to me to see a young
man like Quintavius who has taken care of his business and done what he is
supposed to do through the years get rewarded for it.”
Commitment is key
Burdette told the students that they can accomplish great
things if they commit themselves to their studies.
“You have to be accountable for your actions. You don’t need
to just procrastinate and barely get by. It’s a different ball game in college,
and you have to be responsible for yourself,” Burdette said. “No one is there
to wake you up and make sure you go to class, you have to make sure that you
get up and you go. If I don’t go to class, I don’t get to play. It’s that
simple.”
Burdette said that he believed it was important for him to
use his status as a college football player to be a positive role model for the
children here in the community.
“Kids in Senatobia are sometimes overlooked and led down the
wrong path. This is a small town and they will follow whoever is around or the
guy (who is there) at the moment. Sometimes that is not the right choice,”
Burdette said. “I want to be that guy they use as an example to say people here
in Senatobia can make it. I want them to follow someone who is trying to do it
right. And I want to show them the importance of grades!”
After Burdette introduced himself to the class, he greeted
each student individually, asking their names.
“I know a lot of you knew me, but I didn’t know many of you
when I came in here. Now I do. I probably won’t remember your names but I know
your faces now,” Burdette said, adding that he expected to hear good things
about them.
Each of his new friends also came away with Burdette’s
autograph.
