Destrehan High School alumnus Will Sirmon IV appeared to have missed his chance to play college football thanks to an Ill-timed shoulder injury that cost him playing time as a senior. But Sirmon found a way. And after taking the road less traveled — Sirmon played as a fifth-year senior at Phillips Academy-Andover in Massachusetts — he officially signed this month with Holy Cross.
It’s just a great feeling to finally have that happen after such a long time, all the injuries, coming up for an extra year of high school, everything I went through, to have all the hard work pay off,” Sirmon said.
Sirmon enrolled at Phillips as part of a post-graduate program that accepts 30 to 35 new students who enroll as one-year seniors. His prep career at Destrehan was impeded after suffering two tears in his labrum and a torn bicep in his throwing arm.
At Holy Cross, Sirmon will play wide receiver, where he spent most of his time during his senior year at Destrehan. He played quarterback before his injury and at Phillips, where he excelled after earning the starting job a few games into the season.
“I think it tells someone you can do whatever you want if you have faith,” Sirmon said. “You can accomplish anything if you work hard enough and have faith. I have faith in God that he’s put me in position for best for me. This school is a perfect fit.”
Sirmon said Holy Cross’ educational reputation was attractive to him, as well as the fact the Division I-AA program will play against number of FCS schools, such as Boston College, UConn, Navy and Syracuse.
“The facilities are great. There’s a $100 million dollar new football facility that’s really impressive. And it’s also a Jesuit college. Being a Catholic, that’s a big part of it as well,” Sirmon said. “The church is on the campus. It’s good all-around and it’s exciting.”
Sirmon’s dreams of playing at the next level fueled him, but he plays for more than himself. Sirmon revealed the towel he wears for every game sporting a Superman patch alongside the initials of his cousin, Benjamin. Benjamin passed away at the age of three after a battle with the rare muscular disease Centronuclear Myopathy, which rendered him incapable of breathing, walking or speaking on his own. Superman was the nickname given to Benjamin by his mother.
He was given a year to live, at best, but fought for three. Sirmon has dedicated his playing career to the memory of his cousin. He says Benjamin serves as his constant inspiration to take nothing in life for granted.
“(The towel) was a reminder of who I was playing for and why I was doing it,” Sirmon said. “He was never able to do really anything on his own, and it makes you ask, ‘why would I be able to do all of this when he never could.’ Just watching him grow up every day, fighting every day, it was inspiring seeing what he pushed through.”
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