A Change of Heart

Thamail Morgan was a star high school football player who messed up.

During his junior year at Newport High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas, he broke team rules and was suspended for a year.

“He made a poor choice,” is all his coach will say.

The only one hurt by Morgan’s poor judgment was himself. Football was his best chance at going to college, and overnight all the schools that had been recruiting him—Arkansas, Ole Miss and Florida State—walked away.

Last September, Morgan transferred to Cave City (Arkansas) High School, 38 miles northwest of Newport, hoping to put his life back together. He was desperate to play football. His family had little money. Along with his mother, he helped raise his four sisters and little brother. Maybe, he thought, a small college or community college would give him a second chance.

He met with Jon Bradley, the Cave City head coach.

“Here’s the deal,” Bradley told him. “You made a mistake. You’ll have to work hard to earn our trust, our respect.”

Bradley wasn’t sure how Morgan would react. The coach wasn’t about to babysit him. From a distance, he watched as Morgan buckled down in the classroom, acted humble, volunteered to meet once a week with the team pastor.

“It was like he set a goal for himself, and he was going to do whatever it took to succeed,” Morgan said. “It was incredible how well he fit in. His classmates voted him senior class treasurer. He had a great personality, always had a smile on his face.”

Bradley was pleased by Morgan’s behavior, but not entirely convinced. Then came the third game of the football season, when they were scheduled to play Yellville (Arkansas) High at home.

Bradley got a call from the Yellville coach. There had been a terrible accident the week before. Five of their players had been riding in a pickup to a pre-game meal when the driver—a 16-year-old offensive lineman, Kymball Duffy, son of a local preacher—swerved to avoid some brush that had blown onto the road. Duffy lost control of the pickup and it tumbled off the road. Four players were injured, one seriously. Duffy died.

“They want to play the game,” Bradley told his team. Some players wondered if that was the right thing to do. “It is,” Bradley assured them. “I know your hearts might not be in it, but that’s what they want. That’s what will honor that young man.”

There was some shuffling among the players, a lot of bowed heads. Then Morgan spoke up.