HARLINGEN — Marine Military Academy’s football team is sending three football players to the college level next season.
Outside linebacker Terrence Young signed with Norfolk State University. The university, an HBCU (historically black colleges and universities), is located in Norfolk, Va., not far from Young’s hometown, Washington D.C.
“It is a real honor to play at the next level,” he said. “Just being able to play football outside of high school, most people do not get the opportunity to do that.”
Young said that going to an HBCU runs in the family.
“My family was really happy,” he said. “My mom went to an HBCU, my dad went to one and my brother is going to one. It is a family thing. They are really happy that I get to play at a HBCU.”
At Norfolk State, Young plans to study kinesiology and compete on the field in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the NCAA Division I FCS school.
MMA running back Malik Rivers is joining Texas State University as a preferred walk-on. He will not have to go through a vigorous walk-on tryout to make the team. Rivers will already have a spot on the roster, but no scholarship this year.
“It is a blessing,” he said. “As an underclassman, I did not think that this would be an opportunity for me. Going into my senior year and getting an offer to be a preferred walk-on at Texas State is a blessing to me.”
Rivers, who is from Denver, Colo., spent the past three years at MMA and said the academy grew on him. He is also glad to have this opportunity to play at Texas State, and his goal for this year is to earn the scholarship.
Rivers plans to study construction management while in San Marcos.
Offensive/defensive lineman Aidan Kenney is headed to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to play football. The school is located in Terre Haute, Ind., a town 70 miles outside of Indianapolis.
“I am just honored and blessed for this opportunity,” Kenney said. “I never thought I would be playing at the next level, so it just amazes every day that I can play football at the next level.”
Kenney plans to study mechanical engineering in Indiana and enroll in the Air Force’s ROTC program on campus. The Midland native has plans on joining the military, a family tradition.
The lineman was happy about his time at MMA, like Young and Rivers. They said that once a student becomes used to the academy, it gets easier.
“It provided a good sense of camaraderie, brotherhood, and Marine Military Academy helped me grow in many ways,” Kenney said.
