Terry Lockett Commits To Syracuse
Central defensive lineman Terry Lockett has accepted a scholarship offer from Syracuse
Terry Lockett wasn’t even sure if he was actually good at football when he was a youngster, but his youth coach taught him the game and showed him that he had the size and athleticism to go somewhere with it.
The 2021 defensive lineman from Springfield still has another year to play at Central High School, but after that, football will take him to Syracuse University as Lockett announced his commitment to the Orange on Sunday evening.
Lockett chose the Orange over scholarship offers from schools like Michigan, UMass and Buffalo.
He tweeted a statement in addition to the commitment video
“First off I would like to thank God for all the blessings he’s placed in my life, as well as the opportunities he’s given to me in football,” he said.
“I couldn’t have chose a better place to further my academic and athletic career.”
Lockett loves the game, but as soon as he was old enough to understand what a scholarship was, it was his goal to earn one for his mother.
“I would like to thank my mother for being the strongest person I know and supporting me with my decisions, and my sisters for always being there for me,” he said in the statement.
Lockett also thanked Central head coach Valdamar Brower, assistant coach Bill Watson, who was that youth coach who encouraged Lockett to pursue the game, and Excel Sports Academy strength coach Christian Ferrara.
“I would like to thank the most important figures in my life, coach Bill for being a father figure, coach Brower for always keeping me level-headed, coach Chris for shaping me into the athlete I am today.”
During the offseason, Lockett is a mainstay at Excel Sports Academy.
He also credited his cousins, Shawn Lockett, who played played at Central and AIC, and Mahari Miller, who is headed to Columbia to play football after a successful career with the Golden Eagles.
Lockett has been a huge part of back-to-back state championship teams at Central and has helped usher in a new era for the Golden Eagles as the program’s first Power Five commit in recent years.
He may be the first, but he won’t be the last.
