Gatewood football player Demarian Maddox will remember this past Christmas for the rest of his life. The Gators’ senior learned on Dec. 25, that he had earned a chance to continue his gridiron career at Sussex County Community College in Newton, NJ.
Maddox ended his senior season with one Division III offer but believed he could do better.
“I was looking for a JUCO (junior college). I was hitting GMC (Georgia Military College) and no one responded, so I guess Sussex County Community College had seen my posts on Twitter and liked it,” Maddox said. “They shot me a text and it went from there.”
After getting a text from a member of the Skylanders’ staff on Christmas Day, Maddox exchanged messages with him throughout the week. He then committed on New Year’s Day.
“We texted a lot. I asked him a couple of questions to make sure the offer was a full offer,” Maddox said. “I wanted to make sure everything was paid for and I verbally committed.”
Maddox will visit Sussex’s campus on Feb. 4, with his family. He hopes to sign his letter of intent after that trip but first wants to make sure the school has his intended major.
“I’m pretty locked in,” Maddox added. “I just hope they have my major, which is nursing.”
Maddox is already planning for life after football. He hopes to go to Sussex, transfer to a four-year college, get his degree and attend nursing school once his football career is over.
According to its Twitter page, Sussex football was the first JUCO program in the state of New Jersey. The Skylanders compete in the Region XIX conference and went 4-6 this past season.
Gatewood’s campus in Eatonton is approximately 875 miles from the Sussex football stadium, which equates to about a 14-hour car ride, per Google Maps.
Maddox, who has been a Gator for the past two years, is appreciative of his time at Gatewood.
“I got there and I learned how to handle adversity better,” Maddox said. “I learned how to talk to people better and communicate. Not everybody there is where I am from, so communication was important, and it was the same on the field. I am grateful for those people there.”
Maddox played for Gatewood head coach Jeff Ratliff for the past two years. He feels the longtime Gators coach helped improve his game during his time playing for him.
“I learned a lot from him but the most important was how to tackle better. I spent a lot of time working, playing against the scout team and (tackling) dummies to get me better,” Maddox said. “He taught me how to stay low and hit hard with my head up.”
Maddox consistently displayed those skills in videos he posted to his Twitter profile. He also constantly posts clips of himself working out at home, whether it’s doing push-ups or cone drills in his backyard.
That determination and dedication led to him getting a call from Sussex, which opened up the door for this opportunity. He is extremely thankful to be moving on to the next level.
“I am glad it’s coming together,” Maddox said. “I can’t thank my coaches and teammates enough.”