(reprint of 11/1/2022 KTBS article)
Dominick Strickland played several positions in his time at Jonesboro-Hodge, but his senior season was cut short due to injury.
“Nothing is promised to you. Like you can get injured at any time, so going out for myself and not just relying on football is very important in setting myself up for success in the future.”
He says his strong focus on academics came from simple instructions at home.
“They (my parents) were always on me about my grades. They always told me that my only two jobs, while I was still under their roof, were just to get my schoolwork done and to do the chores. That was it.” *laugh*
Strickland’s favorite subject at the moment is biology, but he’s always had a love for the written word.
“I was always more of an English kid than a math kid. I never really liked math too much, but English is where it’s at. I love writing essays, I love reading, just the storytelling and how vivid you can get, the images in your mind and how the story is.”
Head coach Terrance Blankenship says Strickland has been a model student and player willing to fill any role on the roster and believes he has a bright future.
“Hopefully, someone will take a shot on him, and give him a free education playing football, but if not, I’m quite sure that his academics will help pay for some of his schoolings. He can be whatever he wants to be. I hadn’t really talked to him about what he wants to major in, but I do know that he’s going to college.”
Strickland is undecided on a major, but with a 3.7 GPA, he’s confident wherever life takes him.
“If I don’t make it in college athletes or if I do make it in college athletics, but I can’t make it to pro, I’ll always have a backup plan with a degree.”
Dominick is one of the nominees placed on the National Football Foundation McNaughton Chapter’s Scholar-Athlete Watchlist. Each week KTBS will select an athlete from the list and award a scholarship to one of the fourteen players of the week at the end of the season.
Additionally, KTBS Channel 3 in Shreveport is continuing to honor the memory and legacy of former NFF Board member Bob Griffin, the iconic sportscaster at KSLA and then KTBS for over 50 years, by weekly presentations of a Griffin’s Game Ball to one of the players on the NFF Scholar-Athlete Watch List. The winners will be featured by KTBS each Tuesday in its’ 6 and 10 p.m. sportscasts, and will be eligible for a separate Griffin’s Game Ball Scholar-Athlete Scholarship, presented by KTBS at the NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet next March.
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