Who is Jerkoya Patton?

      Jerkoya Patton is a 22 year old senior who attends Limestone University. He is from Charlotte North Carolina. He is the third child to his mother Monica Mcmurray out of 5 and he was the first child to his father Jerome Patton out of three. Growing up Jerkoya's parents kept him playing some type of sport whether its soccer, track, football, or basketball. He was actually pretty good at all the sports he played, but that football that's where he excelled at. He started playing football around the time he was seven years old. By the time he was 9 he had numerous little league coaches calling his parents phone asking "can your son play for my football team". By the time Jerkoya was 14 his team he had played for had won the championship every year but once. Championship game. Jerkoya was getting older now and high school was here. 

      His freshman year was pretty tough and he found himself going down the wrong path. Going into high school football he injured himself during practice and was told he wasn't going to be able to play football his whole freshman year of high school. A week after he found this out his pops was locked up and was sentenced to four years in prison. High school is 9-12th grade so that means his dad was going to be locked up his whole high school career.  This was tough because his dad never missed a game and now Jerkoya had the love of his life (football) and his pops both taken away within a week. This led to Jerkoya skipping class and getting the wrong group of friends. He found himself on the verge of being kicked out of school in just his freshman year. He needed a wake up call and one came soon indeed. . . 

     One day Jerkoya and his friends were skipping school at the local park and the police arrived to where they were. It had been told that local neighborhood locals had called the cops because they were at the park. Everyone tried to run once the police got there, but Jerkoya didn't get away. He now found himself as a 15 year old young man who was in the backseat of a cop car. Jerkoya had to ask himself is this really the life he wanted to live because if so he wouldn't go anywhere in life. His second chance came when the cop who had put him in the backseat told him he would only take him home and not downtown but if he was caught again he wouldn't be nice.  Within the next month from the incident Jerkoya had rejoined the football team even though he couldnt play he became a manager and his grades had improved tremendously. His popularity was growing and he was now becoming a good face and name to know.

      When his tenth grade year came around he was now healthy enough to play football and his grades were very good. Now he just had to get over this first game without his pops being there. He played and did pretty good. By the time Patton was a junior he was easily the most popular person in school. He had started getting national recognition from colleges while getting recognized for his accomplishments. His junior year he won all conference for football and track he won mvp for wrestling and most improved player for basketball. By senior year he had won conference player of the year for football he had been a state runner up  for wrestling he was a state champion in the 100 meter for track he had been voted most athletic in the school by the teachers and peers, he won homecoming king. He committed to Wake Forest university to play football and continue his academic career there. Adversity hit him again once his scholarship to their was pulled because he did not take his sat within the time frame that it needed to be done in. He now found himself depressed again because he was left asking what was next.  He knew where he had come from so he was actually going to join the military. About a month before he graduated a school called "Limestone College" contacted him. He wondered to himself "what does this small school in the middle of nowhere" wanted with him. Well word had got back to them about him losing his scholarship and they were offering him another chance to do his dream. Go to college and play college football. Jerkoya also graduated with a 3.5 GPA and was now ready to start his next chapter of life. College. 

     The summer before college he worked his butt off in the weight room and had gained 10 lbs in muscle over the summer and had saved enough money to purchase his own car.