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This photo provided by the University of Maryland shows Ronald Redmond standing with sons, 11-year-old R.J., left, and 7-year-old Mason on a football field in Lexington, Mississippi, Jan. 4, 2024. Lexington, Miss. is located in the second-poorest county in the nation’s poorest state. Yet a new analysis shows the town sends more players per capita to elite college football programs than any other town in Mississippi – at a rate that’s among the top in the nation. For many families, the game offers hope for college and a future. (University of Maryland/Jenna Bloom via AP)

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With few other options, football is hope for families in rural Mississippi
By SAPNA BANSIL / SHIRLEY POVICH CENTER FOR SPORTS JOURNALISM AND THE HOWARD CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM - Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
Mon,02/19/24-9:25AM , 91 Reads
LEXINGTON, Miss. (AP) — A winter sun is setting over the brown, patchy field where Ronald Redmond’s kids have been playing football since they were 5. The goalposts are rusting and the fence is ripped. But Redmond knows what kids who played on this field have gone on to achieve: high school stardom, college scholarships and even NFL glory.
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