Bishop Luers defensive back Joe Derrick has signed his letter of intent to play college football at Anderson University. Derrick chose Anderson over schools such as Judson University and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He plans to major in Sports and Recreational Leadership.
“I thought Anderson was a great fit for me,” Derrick said. “As soon as I visited, the coaches liked me, and I just thought it would be a good school to go play [for].”
“I am very proud of Joe’s signing,” Luers head coach Kyle Lindsay said. “Playing college football has always been a goal of his. Any time we have a student-athlete sign a letter of intent to further his academic and football careers, it brings joy to myself and all of our coaches. It’s a big part of why we choose to work with kids.”
Derrick made his commitment public on Tuesday, April 7th when he posted the news to Twitter. News of the signing was made public on Tuesday, April 21st when Luers posted a video of the signing. In the video, only Derrick’s parents stood next to him as he signed. A few of his friends were able to be there to watch the signing (though, more than likely they had to keep their distance). However, he could not be joined by all of his teammates and coaches due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
“My brothers supported me through the season,” Derrick said. “So it would’ve been nice to see them there to watch me sign.”
Derrick played cornerback at Luers. He plans to continue playing that same position at Anderson. Though he’s getting closer to starting his college career, he greatly enjoyed his time at Luers.
“[There were] so many memories with my brothers,” Derrick said. “We had a great time playing on the field together. They hyped me up a lot. The coaches were great too.”
There were several lessons Derrick learned that could be beneficial to him at the next level.
“I’ve learned how to work hard, play with emotion, and to never give up in adversity for sure,” Derrick said.
In Derrick’s time at Luers, Lindsay noticed a great deal of growth from him.
“Joe grew every year, physically getting stronger, and mentally handling the ups and downs of the game,” Lindsay said.
Lindsay had several pieces of advice for Derrick. One of those pieces of advice may sound similar to the 2005 film Coach Carter (albeit a basketball film).
“I’d encourage Joe to sit up front in his classes, to introduce himself to all of his professors, to be sure he gets to team workouts, meetings, and practices well in advance to get mentally prepared to grow as a player, and ultimately to enjoy himself while at the same time preparing himself for what he wants to do the rest of his life,” Lindsay said.
