Almost any child born into their family as a “middle” child might identify with the premise of this article. A first born child in a family is often the one who is the most revered. The last born child in the family is sometimes looked on with ‘angelic eyes,’ and presumed to never do wrong. A middle child, though often in an envious position of being able to learn from an older sibling, and admired by the the younger sibling, can often be overlooked and under-appreciated by parents and peers.

America’s junior college [football] athlete is perhaps the most overlooked and under-appreciated athlete in the nation. There have been many junior college football athletes who have gone on to have extraordinary college and NFL careers. Among the more notable junior college athletes include Aaron Rogers [Butte Community College/University of California/Green Bay Packers], Warren Moon [West Los Angeles College/University of Washington/Houston Oilers], and current NFL Saints’ standout, Alvin Kamara [Hutchinson Community College/University of Tennessee] are just a small sample of the more successful players.

The junior college option for football athletes is often a viable one. Community colleges can provide an rebirth for athletes who need to improve their academic platform before moving on to a four-year school. They also allow players an opportunity for social and physical maturity before moving on as well. In all, community colleges across the country provide a variety of opportunities to athletes and students in general who can benefit immensely from a non-traditional approach to higher education before transferring on to four-year colleges.

The challenge for many junior college football athletes is gaining national exposure while they’re playing at that level. There is very little media coverage of junior college football. Many of the programs are marginalized financially and do not have the resources to promote and market players at a high level. High school athletes tend to get more national exposure through various ranking services, and digital and multi-media marketing platforms.

Here at HSPN Sports we wanted to highlight on the some of the faces of junior college football. It is especially impactful to do this in a season when the COVID pandemic of 2020 has adversely affected high school, college and some NFL football programs across the country. There is little to no mention of the junior college football athlete and what will become of them without a football season.

We begin tonight by highlighting Zachariah Hawkins, a first year running back with Los Angeles Valley College. I sat down with Zach on our podcast called ‘The Real 100’ and we talked about his goals for the future in a three part series. Episode one airs tonight and you can click on the following link to view the podcast. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @hspnsports.