Meridian High sends three to collegiate gridiron
Published 6:04 pm Wednesday, February 5, 2025
- Meridian High School football players Anthony Brown, from left, Malachi Atterberry and Jarmarik Leggette sign scholarship letters to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level Wednesday in a ceremony at the MHS multipurpose building. Photo by Thomas Howard
The Meridian High School football team will see three of its graduating seniors take their positions on collegiate fields after the students signed scholarship letters Wednesday in a ceremony at the MHS multipurpose building.
Anthony Brown, Malachi Atterberry and Jarmarik Leggette will continue their athletic careers at the next level after high school. Brown signed with Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee, while Atterberry signed with Copiah-Lincoln Community College and Leggette signed with East Central Community College.
“I made my decision because the head coach at Lane made sure that he wanted me there,” Brown said.
Meridian High School football coach Shelton Gandy congratulates three of his players Wednesday as they sign letters of intent to continue playing football at the collegiate level. Photo by Thomas Howard
Atterberry said his choice of Copiah-Lincoln was made because of the location and the welcome they gave him on campus, and Leggette said his decision to attend ECCC was also due to the welcome they gave him on campus.
Meridian football coach Shelton Gandy said the three athletes have seen their share of adversity both on and off the field, and they have risen above it and will represent Meridian well as they continue on with their lives.
“I know they had some hardships. I’m their third head coach, and you know, some things that they went through, and they endured,” he said. “But I’ll tell you this about this group, they’ve got tremendous upside. They’ve got a lot of meat, as a coach says, left on the bone, and I wish the best.”
As they move on to college and other ventures, Gandy said all three are invited to come back and share their knowledge and experience with the next generation.
Cheyenne Trussell, athletic director for Meridian Public School District, said he always tells scholarship athletes the same thing, and that is to enjoy their sport but prioritize the college degree.
“We always say, no matter how good of student athletes you are, athletics are only going to take you so far,” he said. “Academics is what is going to keep you going.”
Trussell said the district is expecting more athletes to sign in the coming days as the students make their decisions on where they want to go in the fall.
