BATON ROUGE – Jacoby Stevens used his platform as a member of LSU’s national championship football team to positively influence eighth graders at Glasgow Middle School as the junior safety took part in the Strong Men Academy on Tuesday morning.
Strong Men is a curriculum designed to build character and leadership skills in at-risk young men.
“This organization is designed to build character and have these kids see the value in doing the right thing, being good a good person and aspire to achieve greatness,” program coordinator and Glasgow assistant principal Andy Chapman said. “It means a great deal to our kids to see someone like Jacoby come in and share his story. These kids can relate to Jacoby and for him to emphasize to our kids that if you work hard, do the right thing, and follow your dreams, anything is possible.”
Stevens, who started all 15 games for the national champion Tigers in 2019, spent an hour with the group of middle schoolers, sharing stories from his childhood as well as telling the group about LSU’s championship season.
“Our team was focused on being the best team we could be,” Stevens said. “We didn’t have players worrying about individual honors or achievements, but instead we were all focused on playing our best each week and doing all that we could to be champions. It wasn’t about one person, but it was about everyone on our team doing their part to help us achieve something special.”
Stevens also shared with the group the reason he returned to LSU for his senior season.
“I want to leave a legacy,” Stevens said. “For me, it’s much bigger than football. I want to be a great football player, but I also want to help and inspire others, get my degree and be a difference maker on and off the field. That’s the legacy I want to leave.”
-Michael Bonnette
