When Joseph Crismon steps foot on campus as a freshman this year, it will be the culmination of a strong recruiting effort from Rick Mallory, offensive line coach for the Blue Raider football team.

Joseph isn’t here to play offensive line for our football team, though. He’s here to serve as a student equipment manager. And if his history as a manager for the Oakland High School Patriots football team is any indication, he is a huge asset for the squad.

While he has always wanted to play contact sports, birth defects kept him off the field as a player, but it didn’t stop him from making an impact for the team. In 2018, the Patriots won the Class 6A State Championship, with Joseph as manager, a position he held since his 7th grade year.

Like many top recruits, the next step is to take your talents to an NCAA Division One school. And for Joseph, that school is Middle Tennessee State University.

“Really, it was the coaches, Rick Mallory in particular,” he explained. “He recruited me as a freshman while he was recruiting a player from my school, and he’s been my backbone and worked really hard to get me to attend school here.”

Luckily for Coach Mallory, MTSU is an easy school to convince recruits to attend. He told Joseph that he would feel at home on campus, and that the football team will feel like family. After attending a couple of practices with the team, he saw it as a great place to spend the next four years.

Joseph will be studying Leisure and Sport Management, and hopes to work as a sports agent or in the front office of a professional sports team. When asked about his goals for his time here, he kept it simple:

“I’d like to build upon the relationships I already have and grow to be the best person I can be.”

For students like Joseph getting ready for college, there has never been a better time to apply to attend MTSU. The deadline for Freshman Guaranteed Scholarships is August 14th, and believe me, you don’t want to miss out.

Incoming freshmen with high school GPAs of a 3.5 and ACT scores ranging from 23-36 are eligible for an automatic $1,000 to $3,000 of guaranteed academic scholarships per year. Click here for more information and visit mtsu.edu/apply to begin your journey to becoming a Blue Raider!